CRETACEOUS PERIOD

WHEN?

• 145-66 million years ago.
• Marks the end of the Mesozoic Era.
• Follows the Jurassic Period.
• Precedes the Paleogean period of the Cenozoic Era.

LIFE DURING CRETACEOUS PERIOD (ANIMALS, LAND)

• Dinosaurs ruled during this period of time.
• Triceratops and Tyrannosaurus Rex were present.
• The Spinosaurus, another large carnivore lived during this period.
• Many animals we know of today arose during this period.
• These include: salamanders, turtles, crocodiles, snakes, and frogs.

LAND ANIMALS CONT.,

• Sauropods roam the forest and the cost.
• Pterosaurs and hairy-feathered birds were abundant in the skies.

SEA LIFE DURING CRETACEOUS PERIOD

• Rays, sharks, and teleosts become common.
• Baculites, an ammonite, flourish in the seas.
• Along with reef building rudist clams.
• Sea urchins and sea stars thrive.
• Plankton start radiating through the ocean.

PLANTS DURING CRETACEOUS PERIOD

• Flowering plants develop.
• This is possible with the appearance of insects.
• Insects include: bees, wasp, ants, and beetles.
• Trees like magnolia, ficus, and sassafras.

CLIMATE

• Warm climate.
• Resulting in high sea levels.
• This creates shallow inland seas.

MAJOR EVENTS

• Cretaceous-Paleogean extinction event.
• Widely accepted theory that a meteorite caused mass extinction.
• First appearance of angiosperms.
• Ocean diatoms, plankton, radiate.
• Time of Pangea rifting apart allows different forms of evolution.

RESOURCES

• http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/mesozoic/cretaceous/cretaceous.php
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cretaceous
• http://science.nationalgeographic.com/science/prehistoric-world/cretaceous/