https://gcmd.earthdata.nasa.gov/kms/concept/db5be985-d8dc-4063-abff-4cbd8eb39653
| change note | 2019-10-22 12:18:33.0 [tstevens] insert Definition (id: null text: The Cenozoic Era is the most recent of the three major subdivisions of animal history. The other two are the Mesozoic and Paleozoic Eras. The Cenozoic spans only about 65 million years, from the end of the Cretaceous Period and the extinction of non-avian dinosaurs to the present. The Cenozoic is sometimes called the Age of Mammals, because the largest land animals have been mammals during that time. This is a misnomer for several reasons. First, the history of mammals began long before the Cenozoic began. Second, the diversity of life during the Cenozoic is far wider than mammals. The Cenozoic could have been called the "Age of Flowering Plants" or the "Age of Insects" or the "Age of Teleost Fish" or the "Age of Birds" just as accurately. The Cenozoic (65.5 million years ago to present) is divided into three periods: the Paleogene (65.5 to 23.03 million years ago), Neogene (23.03 to 2.6 million years ago) and the Quaternary (2.6 million years ago to present). Paleogene and Neogene are relatively new terms that now replace the deprecated term, Tertiary. The Paleogene is subdivided into three epochs: the Paleocene (65.5 to 55.8 million years ago), the Eocene (55.8 to 33.9 million years ago), and the Oligocene (33.9 to 23.03 million years ago). The Neogene is subdivided into two epochs: the Miocene (23.03 to 5.332 million years ago) and Pliocene (5.332 to 2.588 million years ago). language code: en); |
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| definition | The Cenozoic Era is the most recent of the three major subdivisions of animal history.
The other two are the Mesozoic and Paleozoic Eras. The Cenozoic spans only about 65
million years, from the end of the Cretaceous Period and the extinction of non-avian
dinosaurs to the present. The Cenozoic is sometimes called the Age of Mammals, because
the largest land animals have been mammals during that time. This is a misnomer for
several reasons. First, the history of mammals began long before the Cenozoic began.
Second, the diversity of life during the Cenozoic is far wider than mammals. The Cenozoic
could have been called the "Age of Flowering Plants" or the "Age of Insects" or the
"Age of Teleost Fish" or the "Age of Birds" just as accurately. The Cenozoic (65.5 million years ago to present) is divided into three periods: the Paleogene (65.5 to 23.03 million years ago), Neogene (23.03 to 2.6 million years ago) and the Quaternary (2.6 million years ago to present). Paleogene and Neogene are relatively new terms that now replace the deprecated term, Tertiary. The Paleogene is subdivided into three epochs: the Paleocene (65.5 to 55.8 million years ago), the Eocene (55.8 to 33.9 million years ago), and the Oligocene (33.9 to 23.03 million years ago). The Neogene is subdivided into two epochs: the Miocene (23.03 to 5.332 million years ago) and Pliocene (5.332 to 2.588 million years ago). |
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