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• Angiosperms (flowering plants) are believed to have evolved during the Jurassic period, although concrete evidence shows they actually date back to the Cretaceous period
• The Cretaceous period is part of the Mesozoic Era and is considered the last period of this interval, lasting from 144 to 65 million years ago
• Marine organisms that appeared during the Cretaceous period

  • Ammonites
  • Rudists
• Ammonite and rudist fossils can be found in specific locations in the Philippines to study the environment of the Cretaceous period
• During the Cretaceous period, there was a divergence of placental and marsupial mammals, and the continued dominance of dinosaurs
• The first concrete evidence of flowering plants appeared during the Cretaceous period, which is believed to have led to the evolution of insect pollinators
• The Cretaceous period saw the opening of the Atlantic Ocean, leading to the separation of the continents of South America and Africa, and North America and Eurasia
• The Cretaceous-Tertiary (K-T) extinction event at the end of the Cretaceous period resulted in the extinction of not only marine animals, but also terrestrial animals including the dinosaurs
• The K-T extinction event is believed to have been caused by a large meteorite impact, as well as increased volcanic activity, which drastically affected the climate
• Dinosaurs


  Land reptiles that lived during the late Triassic to Cretaceous periods, 65 to 230 million years ago
• Two main groups of dinosaurs


  • Bird-hipped dinosaurs
  • Lizard-hipped dinosaurs
• Examples of dinosaurs


  • Stegosaurus
  • Triceratops
  • Tyrannosaurus
  • Apatosaurus
• Archaeopteryx is considered the earliest known bird, as it exhibits features intermediate between dinosaurs and modern birds
• Pterosaurs


  Flying reptiles, not dinosaurs
• Examples of pterosaurs


  • Pteranodon
  • Pterodactylus
• Marine reptiles


  Reptiles that lived in the marine environment, not on land
• Examples of marine reptiles


  • Plesiosaurus
  • Ichthyosaurus
• The Philippines had predominantly marine conditions during the Mesozoic Era, so marine reptile fossils are more likely to be found there than dinosaur fossils
• The Mesozoic Era is bounded by two major extinction events: the Permian-Triassic extinction and the Cretaceous-Tertiary extinction
• Key events of the Mesozoic Era


  • Appearance of first dinosaurs
  • Breakup of Pangaea
  • Appearance of early mammals
  • Appearance of first birds
  • Appearance of first placental mammals
  • Appearance of first flowering plants
  • Meteorite impact causing dinosaur extinction
• Cenozoic Era


  The most recent geological era, following the Mesozoic Era, from 65 million years ago to present
• Periods of the Cenozoic Era

  • Paleogene
  • Neogene
  • Quaternary
• The Cenozoic Era saw the beginning of the age of mammals and the radiation of modern birds after the extinction of the dinosaurs
• Paleogene


  Geological period from 66 to 23 million years ago
• Neogene


  Geological period from 23 to 2.6 million years ago
• Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary


  Also known as the Cretaceous-Paleogene boundary, the geological boundary between the Cretaceous and Paleogene periods
• Some people will call it the Cretaceous-Paleogene boundary
• The subdivision of the Cenozoic era is very important to remember
• Cenozoic era subdivisions


  • Paleogene
  • Neogene
• Paleogene


  Beginning of the age of mammals, radiation of modern birds
• After the extinction of the dinosaurs


  It resulted in the dominance of other groups of animals like mammals
• Oligocene


  Rise of monkeys and evolution of apes
• Pliocene


  Appearance of the first known hominid primates
• Pleistocene


  Ice Age, extinction of many large mammals
• Holocene


  End of the Ice Age, age of Homo sapiens
• Approximately 10,000 years ago

  Holocene
• The Holocene is considered the age of Homo sapiens
• The Holocene marks the end of the Ice Age
• The Pleistocene-Holocene boundary occurred approximately 10,000 years ago
• Mammals have dominated the fossil record during the Cenozoic era