The Paleogene Period

The Paleogene Period

What was the Earth like during this period?

REFERENCES

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S003101822200150X https://www.proquest.com/docview/1725433316/fulltextPDF?_oafollow=false&accountid=10003&pq-origsite=primo&sourcetype=Scholarly%20Journals

TIMEFRAME

- Began 66 million y/a - ended 23 million y/a

FUN FACTS

- Of the species impacted by the Meteor impact 66 million years ago, the ones most effected were nanoplankton/plantkon species, marine invertibrates, and non-avian dinosaurs - Whales are believed to have decended from land mammals - The first primates appeared during this period - The first horses (called hyrocatherium) were much smaller than today's horses - Earth's poles were warm and had vast forests

PERIOD

- Paleogene consisted of Paleocene, Eocene, and Oligocene epochs

LIFE

MASS EXTINCTION

- Animal life at this thime consisted of small to medium sized mamalian land dwellers - Other types of animal species included birds, whales, reptiles, and amphibians - Tropical rainforests stretched as far north as Wyoming - Conifers (a type of plant that produces seeds w/o flowers or fruits) were prevalent in these rainforests

The events that led to this period are very important to discuss because it shaped the development of species and landscape to come. - The period began with a mass extinction event believed to be caused by a meteor impact. - This event wiped out the dinosaurs and other species prevalent during the Cretaceous period - Mammals thrived - The Earth began to warm - Lots of volcanic activity shaped the landscape

CLIMATE

- Global warming caused by volcanic activity and greenhouse effect - High CO2 levels in the atmosphere - Temperatures were around 20 degrees Celcius in the arctic - Oceans warmed and various species thrived, except during the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum