When was tertiary period

But when it comes to us mammals, perhaps the most important period was the one known as the Tertiary Period. This period began 65 million years ago and ended roughly 1. It followed the Cretaceous period and was superseded by the Quaternary. In terms of major events, the Tertiary period began with the demise of the non-avian dinosaurs in the Cretaceous—Tertiary extinction event, at the start of the Cenozoic era, and lasted to the beginning of the most recent Ice Age at the end of the Pliocene epoch.

In terms of geology, there was a great deal of tectonic activity that continued from the previous era, culminating in the splitting of Gondwana and the collision of the Indian landmass with the Eurasian plate. This led to the formation of the Himalayas, the gradual creation of the continent of Australia a haven for the non-placental, marsupial mammals , the separation South America from West Africa and its connection to North America, and Antarctica taking its current position below the South Pole.

In terms of climate, the period was marked by widespread cooling, beginning in the Paleocene with tropical-to-moderate worldwide temperatures and ending before the first extensive glaciation at the start of the Quaternary. In terms of species evolution, this period was of extreme importance to modern life. By the beginning of the period, mammals replaced reptiles as the dominant vertebrates on the planet.

It may be a little confusing and why change the name anyway? Well the name Tertiary was first used in the mid 18th century. At that time all of geologic time was divided into only 3 periods, Primary, Secondary, and Tertiary. Later a fourth period was added not mysteriously called Quaternary.

A lot has been learned since that time and many divisions have been added to organize our understanding of geologic time. We now have Eons, Eras, Periods, and epochs. Each of those divisions have divisions. See the currently recognized Geologic Time Line.

The old system using 4 time periods could no longer be helpful. Yet 2 of the old terms were still in use until recently, the Tertiary and the Quaternary. As of the Tertiary is gone. The Quaternary remains.

The remainder of this page details the Tertiary of old. The Tertiary Period began 65 million years ago and lasted more than 63 million years, until 1. The Tertiary is made up of 5 epochs :. Each epoch has unique characteristics for climate and geography. The plants and animals changed from epoch to epoch also. They were named using the Latin forms of numbers for first, second, third and fourth.

Today, we use a different system, but the name Tertiary is still common for the first part of the Cenozoic Era. Much of the earth was tropical or sub-tropical. Palm trees grew as far north as Greenland! By the middle of the tertiary, during the Oligocene Epoch, the climate began to cool. This cooling trend continued and by the Pliocene Epoch an ice age had begun. Grasses Support Grazing Animals The plants of the Tertiary are very similar to the plants that we have today. The warm climate at the beginning of the period favored dense forests.

As the climate cooled open woodlands and grasslands became abundant. The grasses were important because they supported huge herds of grazing animals. The Rise of The Mammals The extinction event at the close of the Cretaceous Period wiped out the dinosaurs, large reptiles, and many other species.

This left room for new animals to develop. The mammals became the dominant animals. In fact, the Cenozoic Era is often called the Age of Mammals. Most of the main groups of mammals were present by the Eocene Epoch. With the dinosaurs and other large reptiles gone mammals grew in size, numbers and diversity.

They filled ecological niches in the sea on land and in the air. The table above shows what mammals came on the scene with each new epoch. Hominids: Human Ancestors During the Pliocene the first hominids appeared; these were our human ancestors! Many of the birds we know today were present.

There were also many large flightless birds that are now extinct. These birds did particularly well before the mammals developed so many species. Sharks became more plentiful. Trout and bass evolved. Bees and other insects that lived on pollen and nectar of the flowering plants prospered. The mountains of the world were also covered by glaciers, including the newly formed Himalayas and Alps.

The huge amounts of water locked up in the ice lowered the level of the sea and land bridges appeared:. Go to Geologic Time Line. The next period is The Quaternary Period. Before the Tertiary Period is the Cretaceous Period.

Fossils from the Tertiary Period for sale at our sister site Fossilicious. Knightia Fish Fossil.