Evidence of early life in the Cenozoic Era

Cenozoic Era

The term "Cenozoic" is a combination of the Greek words kainos, which means
"new," and zoic, which means "life," and refers to the evolution of modern life on
Earth during this period (Cowling, 2021).

Tertiary Period

● The rise of modern mammals

● The development of shrubs, grasses, and other flowering plants.
● Most of the Cenozoic is the Tertiary, from 65 million years ago to 1.8 million
years ago
● Includes the present-day configuration of the continent and The cooling of global
temperatures
● The Palaeogene and Neogene periods are togetherly known as the tertiary
period.

The Tertiary Period of geologic time is defined by a series of rocks above the
Cretaceous and below the Quaternary (Communications and Publishing, 2016). The
Tertiary period (also known as the Paleogene and Neogene periods) is the first
geological phase of the Cenozoic era. The tertiary geological period spanned roughly 66
million to 2.6 million years ago. The tertiary geological period began with the extinction
of non-avian dinosaurs (other than birds) during the Cretaceous-Paleogene extinction
event at the beginning of the Cenozoic Era and lasted until the end of the Pliocene
Epoch, when glaciation commenced. The dates have been altered further as science
improves and fresh evidence is discovered (Vedantu, 2022). Reptiles were displaced as
major vertebrates at the beginning of the tertiary period by mammals. All non-avian
dinosaurs went extinct as well. Early on, modern types of birds, reptiles, fish, and
amphibians appeared. Finally, the first recognizable hominid relatives of humans
appeared. In comparison to today's environment, the tertiary climate was very warm and
damp in the beginning. The majority of the Earth was tropical or subtropical. Plant trees
might be found as far north as the Grasslands. By the middle of the tertiary, or during
the Oligocene period, the climate had begun to cool. The temperature continued to
drop, and by the Pliocene epoch, ice had formed. Tertiary plants are very similar to the
plants we have now. Initially, the warmer climate of the tertiary period encouraged
dense woods. As the climate cooled, more woods and grassland appeared. The
grasses were crucial during the tertiary period because they supported a vast herd of
grazing animals. Tertiary has five principal subdivisions, called epochs, which from
oldest to youngest are the Paleocene (66 million to 55.8 million years ago), Eocene
(55.8 million to 33.9 million years ago), Oligocene (33.9 million to 23 million years ago),
Miocene (23 million to 5.3 million years ago), and Pliocene (5.3 million to 2.6 million
years ago). The terms Primary and Secondary were mainly abandoned; Tertiary and
Quaternary were and are still used, although other geologic literature substitutes
alternative names, such as Palaeogene and Neogene (Fact Monster, 2017).

Paleogene Period

● The first period of the Cenozoic Era

● The Paleogene represents less than 1% of geologic time; however, the rocks of
this period were deposited quite recently.
● Dinosaurs, pterosaurs, and enormous marine reptiles were strikingly absent from
the face of the Earth at the start of the Paleogene period.
● The Paleogene Period is divided into three epochs: Paleocene, Eocene, and
Oligocene
○
The beginning of the Paleogene period was a time for the mammals that survived
from the Cretaceous period. Later in this period, rodents and small horses, such as
Hyracotherium, are common and rhinoceroses and elephants appear. As the period
ends, dogs, cats and pigs become commonplace. Other than a few birds that were
classified as dinosaurs, most notable the Titanis, the dinosaurs were gone. Large
flightless birds, such as the Diatryma, thrived (Cerrato, 2022)

This is the time period immediately following the extinction of the dinosaurs when
large ecological holes were left open for new species to occupy. With the extinction of
dinosaurs, mammals were allowed to thrive and spread all over the world. The event
that wiped out most of the dinosaurs reshaped the world's ecosystems, allowing for the
evolution of a diverse range of plant and animal life (The Paleogene Period - Major
Events, Climate, Plants and Animals, n.d.)

Modern animals began to evolve during the Paleogene epoch. The disappearance of
giant reptiles allowed other animals to evolve. Mammals dominated the latter portion of
the period. By the Eocene epoch, most mammalian groups were already thriving.
Mammals increased in number, diversity, and size after the large reptiles vanished.
They explored and occupied territories in the air, sea, and land (Paleogene Period |
Geochronology | Britannica, n.d.)
Paleocene Epoch (66 million years ago - 56 million years ago)
The Paleocene epoch began soon after the dinosaurs went extinct. The Earth's
climate was warmer than today but cooler and drier than the epochs that came before
and after it. Many current plant species, such as cacti and palm trees, originated during
the Paleocene, and relatively mild temperatures over the world gave rise to thick
forests. During the Paleocene, mammals became more diversified, and many gained
bigger body sizes, taking on ecological responsibilities similar to the now-extinct
dinosaurs. These early mammals are only distantly related to contemporary species,
and their teeth and skeletons are primitive (Paleogene Period | Natural History Museum,
2012)

During the Paleocene, the first hoofed ungulates evolved, including the condylarths,
which were closely linked to the ancestors of perissodactyls. Other Paleocene animals
include rodent-like multituberculates and massive flightless predatory birds like
Gastornis (Paleogene Period—66.0 to 23.0 MYA (U.S, 2021)

Following the great extinction at the end of the Cretaceous period, evolution resumed
at a tremendous pace. Many new animals emerged after their dinosaur competition was
wiped out. The earliest rodents, armadillos, early primates, and modern mammalian
carnivore ancestors arose. Reptiles such as snakes, lizards, turtles, and crocodiles
survived the dinosaurs' extinction (Cenozoic | U.S. Geological Survey, n.d.)

Eocene Epoch (56 to 33.9 million years ago)

The beginning of the Eocene period in terrestrial vertebrates is marked by the arrival
of two new families of animals: the perissodactyls, or odd-toed ungulates, and the
artiodactyls, or even-toed ungulates. Horses, rhinoceroses, and tapirs are
perissodactyls, while deer, cattle, and sheep are artiodactyls. The dawn horse, known
as Eohippus in North America, is among the fossil perissodactyls discovered in lower
Eocene rocks of both North America and Europe. Artiodactyls, which were scarce in the
early Eocene, were common later in the era (Cenozoic | U.S. Geological Survey, n.d.).

During the Eocene Epoch, earlier mammalian orders were replaced by modern ones.
Hoofed animals, such as the legendary Eohippus (dawn horse) and ancestral
rhinoceroses and tapirs, first appeared. During the Eocene Epoch, early bats, rabbits,
beavers, rats, mice, carnivorous animals, and whales emerged. The first Eocene Epoch
mammals were all small, but larger species arose toward the end of the epoch,
including the elephant-sized titanothere. During the Eocene Epoch, many flowering
plants emerged. The grasses, which originally arose in the late Cretaceous Period but
did not become diversified and widespread until the Eocene Epoch, are particularly
significant. Early grazing animals, such as Eohippus, benefited from abundant grass.
During the Eocene, common tree species such as birch, cedar, chestnut, elm, and
beech thrived (Cenozoic | U.S. Geological Survey, n.d.)

The Eocene Tertiary period began at the conclusion of the Palaeocene (56.5 million
years ago) and terminated at the beginning of the Oligocene. It is notable for the
increase in animal stocks (horses, bats, and whales arrived during this time period), as
well as the local abundance of nummulites (marine protozoans of the Foraminiferida).
The Ypresian, Lutetian, Bartonian, and Priabonian Ages comprise the Eocene Epoch.
(Allaby & Allaby, 2002)

Oligocene Epoch (33.9 million years ago - 23.03 million years ago)
As a result of the cooling trend prevalent throughout the Oligocene period, the lives
and habitats of many organisms were directly affected. In the oceans, marine biotic
provinces became more fragmented as sea dwellers capable of withstanding cooler
temperatures congregated in places further from the warmer equator, where other
species could better survive. The cooling trend was also responsible for the reduced
diversity in marine plankton, the foundation of the food chain (Bagley, 2013).

Oligocene horses remained fairly small. For example, Mesohippus was only about 2
feet tall at the shoulders. During the Oligocene, the even-toed ungulates (artiodactyls)
became more diverse, with more species than the perissodactyls. Pig-like oreodonts
were common artiodactyls in the Oligocene. Their fossils are quite numerous in parts of
the Great Plains. On land, mammals such as horses, deer, camel, elephants, cats,
dogs, and primates began to dominate, except in Australia. The continuation of land
mammal faunal migration between Asia and North America was responsible for the
dispersion of several lineages to new continents. Early forms of amphicyonids, canids,
camels, tayassuids, protoceratids, and anthracotheres appeared, as did
Caprimulgiformes, birds that possess gaping mouths for catching insects. Diurnal
raptors, such as falcons, eagles, and hawks, along with seven to ten families of rodents
also first appeared during the Oligocene. The "bulk feeding" in the open grasslands and
savannas that occurred in this period resulted in an increase in general herbivore size.
As an example, ungulates continued to get larger throughout the Oligocene (Barnes,
n.d.)

The early Oligocene was marked by a multitude of different events ranging from the
appearance of new groups such as elephants to the decline in taxonomic diversity in
middle- and high-latitude forests. "Micro-mammals" experienced a period of
diversification, as did the marsupials in Australia. This period was also marked by a
relative free change of animals among northern continents, as evidenced by the
similarity in vertebrate faunas (Oligocene Epoch | Geochronology | Britannica, n.d.).
Neogene Period

● The second period of the Cenozoic Era

● The Neogene Period began with enormous tracts of forest being replaced by
grasslands and savannahs.
● Rhinos, tapirs, horses, kangaroo rats, salamanders, elm trees, hackberry trees,
and grasses are examples of Neogene creatures and vegetation. Animal burrows
and ant nests have been discovered as trace fossils.
● Whales diversified in the seas, and sharks reached their largest size during this
period.
● The Paleogene Period is divided into three epochs: Miocene, Pliocene, and
Pleistocene

Changing climates and continental separations resulted in complex patterns of

mammalian evolution. As grasslands spread and the temperature cooled and dried,
more modern mammals arose. The Tethys Sea gradually closed throughout the
Neogene when the continents shifted into their current positions. The Neogene's strong
cooling periods result in more distinct latitudinal biotic zones (Unterthiner, n.d.).

Early primates, including early humans, emerge during the Neogene period. During
this time, bovids such as cattle, sheep, goats, antelope, and gazelle thrive. The
continental links provided access to new places for species that had evolved in
isolation. Elephants and apes traversed Africa and Eurasia. Rabbits, pigs, saber-
toothed cats, and rhinos all made their way to Africa. As the temperature changed,
many of the enormous forests that blanketed the continents from coast to coast and
pole to pole gradually gave way to grasslands, a habitat better suited to colder, drier
conditions. However, the toughness came at the expense of fewer nutrients. Plant-
eating animals had to evolve in order to survive. Horses thrived and grew stronger,
enamel-protected teeth. Ruminants, like bison, camels, sheep, and giraffes, have
segmented stomachs that are well adapted to digesting grass. Many of the grazers
were swift and moved in herds—new survival strategies in the open. Their predators
had to adapt as well (Fairbridge, n.d.)

Miocene Epoch ( 23 million years ago - 5.333 million years ago)

The Miocene Epoch, between 23 million years and 5 million years ago, was a period
of great evolution for both plants and animals. The name Miocene comes from Greek
words meaning less and new, or ''less recent.'' The epoch was given this name
because, while there was a lot of evolution, significantly fewer modern animals can be
traced to this epoch than the one that follows.

Miocene Geography and Climate

By the Miocene Epoch, North America and Europe were basically in the position they
are today, with mountain ranges continuing to form. The supercontinent Gondwana,
which had previously been in the Southern Hemisphere, had utterly broken apart by this
epoch into the land that is now South America, Africa, India, Australia, and Antarctica
(Miocene Epoch | Plants, Animals, & Fossils | Britannica, n.d.).

Africa had moved north to collide with Europe and form the Alps mountain range.
Similarly, to the east, India collided with Asia and created the Himalayan Mountains.
South America and Australia had only recently separated from Antarctica and were
moving north toward their current positions(Cenozoic | U.S. Geological Survey, n.d.).

The climate through a lot of this epoch was fairly warm. However, about 14 million
years ago, the temperature dropped significantly in an event called the Middle Miocene
Climate Transition. Temperatures worldwide dropped again 8 million years ago. This
extreme cooling allowed for the formation of the ice that still currently covers Antarctica;
it also began the formation of ice in Greenland (Beard, n.d.).

Plant and Animal Life

One of the most identifiable events of this epoch is the expansion of grasslands and
kelp in the oceans. The warming and cooling of this time caused the land to dry out,
killing off the tropical forests that had previously inhabited most of the land. This allowed
grasslands to expand and take over for the first time. This expansion of grass also
meant that animals had to adapt: animals equipped to eat in forests had to evolve into
grazers that could eat the now abundant grass (Buell, 2019).

Pliocene Epoch (5.333 million years ago - 2.58 million years ago)
The Pliocene, 5.3 to 2.6 million years ago,* was a time of global cooling after the
warmer Miocene. The cooling and drying of the global environment may have
contributed to the enormous spread of grasslands and savannas during this time. The
change in vegetation undoubtedly was a major factor in the rise of long-legged grazers
who came to live in these areas (Polly, n.d.).

During the Pliocene, the tectonic plates of India and Asia also collided, which formed
the Himalayas. In North America, the Cascades, Rockies, Appalachians, and the
Colorado plateaus were uplifted, and there was activity in the mountains of Alaska and
in the Great Basin ranges of Nevada and Utah. The end of the Pliocene was marked in
North America by the Cascadian revolution, during which the Sierra Nevada was
elevated and tilted to the west. In Europe, many mountain ranges were built up,
including the Alps, which were folded and thrust (Buell, 2019).

Over the course of the Pliocene, the global climate became cooler and more arid. The
beginning of the epoch saw numerous fluctuations in temperature, which gave way to
the general cooling trend towards the end of the Pliocene. This long term cooling
actually started in the Eocene and continued up to the ice ages of the Pleistocene.
During the Pliocene, large polar ice caps started to develop and Antarctica became the
frozen continent that it is today. It is uncertain what caused this climate cooling during
the Pliocene. Changes in the amount of heat transported by oceans has been
suggested as one possible explanation; higher concentrations of greenhouse gases in
the atmosphere may also have contributed. It is also possible that the raising of the
Himalayas, caused by plate collisions between India and Asia, accelerated the cooling
process (Pliocene Epoch, 2014).

Generally, though, the climate of the Pliocene is thought to have been much warmer
than it is today. The warmest phase was in the middle of the epoch, the interval
between three and four million years ago. The climate was especially mild at high
latitudes and certain species of both plants and animals existed several hundred
kilometers north of where their nearest relatives exist today. Less ice at the poles also
resulted in a sea level that is thought to have been about 30 meters higher than today.

Pleistocene Epoch (2.58 million years ago - 0.012 million years ago)
The base of the Gelasian Stage (2,588,000 to 1,800,000 years ago) marks the
beginning of Pleistocene, which is also the base of the Quaternary Period. The
Pleistocene ended 11,700 years ago. It is preceded by the Pliocene Epoch of the
Neogene Period and is followed by the Holocene Epoch. The Pleistocene Epoch,
sometimes known as the "Great Ice Age," is most known for being a period when
massive ice sheets and other glaciers continuously developed on landmasses (Lewton,
n.d.).

The Pleistocene has had a long and controversial history. Because the epoch is best
recognized for glaciation and climatic change, many have suggested that its lower
boundary should be based on climatic criteria—for example, the oldest glacial deposits
or the first occurrence of a fossil of a cold-climate life-form in the sediment record. Other
criteria that have been used to define the Pliocene–Pleistocene include the appearance
of humans, the appearance of certain vertebrate fossils in Europe, and the appearance
or extinction of certain microfossils in deep-sea sediments. These criteria continue to be
considered locally, and some workers advocate a climatic boundary at about 2.4 million
years (The Pliocene Epoch (5-1.6 Million Years Ago) - The Australian Museum, n.d.).

Pleistocene Epoch, Earlier and longer of the two epochs that constitute the Quaternary
Period. The Pleistocene began c. 2.6 million years ago and ended c. 11,700 years ago.
It was preceded by the Pliocene Epoch of the Neogene Period and followed by the
Holocene Epoch. At the height of the Pleistocene glacial ages, more than 30% of the
Earth's land area was covered by glacial ice; during the interglacial stages, probably
only about 10% was covered. The animals of the Pleistocene began to resemble those
of today, and new groups of land mammals, including humans, appeared. At the end of
the epoch, mass extinctions occurred: in North America more than 30 genera of large
mammals became extinct within a span of roughly 2,000 years. Of the many causes
that have been proposed for these extinctions, the two most likely are changing
environment with changing climate and disruption of the ecological pattern by early
humans (Allaby & Allaby, 2002).

Quaternary Period

● The third period of the Cenozoic Era

● Known for numerous glaciations and glacial retreats
● The extinction of giant birds and mammals
● Divided into two epochs: Holocene and Pleistocene
● Rise of man
● Megafauna, or giant animals, dominated this period

The Quaternary Period is the third and last of the three periods of the Cenozoic Era.
This period began 2.58 million years ago and extends to the present day. This is less
than 0.1% of all geologic time. The Quaternary period is divided into two epochs: the
Pleistocene Epoch, which lasted from approximately 2 million years ago to about 12,000
years ago, and the Holocene Epoch, which began about 12,000 years ago (NPS
contributors, 2021). This was a period of numerous extreme changes brought on by
shifting continents and enormous volcanoes that impacted the entire planet's climate,
which has impacted food resources and led to the extinction of numerous species. The
emergence of humans and the rise and fall of massive animals happened in the
Quaternary Period. The entire Quaternary Period, including the present, is referred to as
an "ice age" due to the presence of at least one permanent ice sheet, which is
Antarctica (Bagley, 2014). However, the Pleistocene Epoch was generally much drier
and colder than the current period. The glaciation during the Quaternary period had
several major effects, including continental land erosion and substance deposition,
Earth's crust's isostatic repositioning, the formation of lakes, unusual winds, changes in
sea level, and flooding.
 Extreme weather and environmental changes occurred frequently during the
Quaternary period. The drastic changes proved to be too much for the animals, despite
their best efforts to adapt. They couldn't continue because of the weather, but smaller,
more adaptable animals did. Along with them, humans flourished and became the
dominant species on Earth (Maxwell, 2022).

Holocene Epoch (11,700 years ago to present day)

The current period of geologic time is known as the Holocene Epoch; it began about
11,700 years ago and continues to the present. The Anthropocene Epoch, also called
Age of Man, is another word that's occasionally used, and it refers to a time period in
which human activity has mostly produced worldwide changes. This phrase, however,
may be deceptive because modern humans were fully established long before the
epoch even existed.

The glaciers of the late Paleolithic period receded as the Earth began to warm. Large
mammals such as mammoths and wooly rhinoceros became extinct as the climate
changed. Humans, who were dependent on these large mammals for their source of
food, expanded their collecting of plant resources and switched to smaller wildlife to
complement their food (Bagley, 2013). Evidence points to a sudden change in climate
that lasted for several years around 10,800 years ago. Although the glaciers did not
reappear, it would have been difficult to find game and plant life.

“The very youthfulness of the Holocene stratigraphic sequence makes subdivision

difficult” (Agenbrod, 2018). Deep oceanic deposits, continental shelf, and coastal
regions are included in the nature of the Holocene record; on the other hand, floral
change and faunal change are under Holocene environment and biota. According to
Mead & Meltzer (1984), around 10,800 to 10,000 years ago, 75% of the larger creatures
that went extinct during the late Pleistocene (those weighing more than 40 kilos live
weight) did so.
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