ERA

The Cenozoic Era

G The Cenozoic Era literally means “recent life”. It began 65 million years ago and

T continues to the present day. This era is most commonly referred to as the “Age of the
Mammals.” The demise of the dinosaurs at the end of the Mesozoic Era allowed the

E growth and ultimately the dominance of mammals. The Cenozoic Era has also been

I marked by dramatic climatic changes that have allowed periods of glaciation followed by
periods of melting and glacial retreat.

O
M The Mesozoic Era
L The Mesozoic Era literally means “middle life”. It lasted from 248 million years ago to 65

E
million years ago. This is the era that is most popularly known as “The age of the
Reptiles.” Some even call it “The age of the Dinosaur.” It is during this era that life

O crawled out of the water and learned to live exclusively on land. Even though the reptiles
were the most dominant of animals, early birds and small mammals also began to appear

S
on the landscape. The end of the Mesozoic Era is marked by another mass extinction. It is

G estimated that about 50% of all species, including all of the dinosaurs became extinct at
the end of the Mesozoic Era.

I C
The Paleozoic Era
C A The Paleozoic Era literally means “old life”. It lasted from 540 million years ago to 248

A L million years ago. At the beginning of the Paleozoic (the Cambrian Period), there were
only simple life forms. By the end of the Paleozoic, amphibians crawled out of the water
to venture onto land and insects were abundant. The middle of the Paleozoic marked the

L E growth of land plants and trees. Of all the Eras, the Paleozoic Era contains the most
extensive collection of fossils. The organism such as algae, through marine invertebrates
like brachiopods and corals, to early amphibians. This era ended with a mass extinction of
over 90% of all species. This is known as the Permo-Triassic Extinction.

Precambrian

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