Cainozoic facts for kids
The Cenozoic Era (say: Sen-oh-ZO-ik) is the current geological era we live in. It started about 66 million years ago and is still going on today. Before the Cenozoic, there was the Mesozoic Era, which was the time of the dinosaurs.
During the Cenozoic Era, the continents slowly moved into the places they are now. The Earth's climate was warm at first. But over time, it got cooler and cooler. Eventually, this led to many ice ages.
The name "Cenozoic" comes from two Greek words: kainos, meaning "new," and zoe, meaning "life." So, Cenozoic means "new life." You might also see it spelled "Cainozoic." This era is divided into three main periods. These periods are then split into smaller parts called stages.
- Cenozoic Era
- Palaeogene Period
- Paleocene Epoch
- Eocene Epoch
- Oligocene Epoch
- Neogene Period
- Quaternary Period
- Pleistocene Epoch
- Holocene Epoch
- Palaeogene Period
In the past, the Cenozoic Era was divided into two periods called the Tertiary and the Quaternary. The Tertiary Period included what we now call the Palaeogene and Neogene periods. Today, the term 'Tertiary' is no longer used by scientists.
Life During the Cenozoic Era
The Cenozoic Era is often called the "Age of Mammals." After the dinosaurs died out, mammals grew in size and became the main large animals on land. Birds and flowering plants also became very common. Large areas of grassland spread across the Earth, creating new places for animals to live.
In the oceans, aquatic mammals like whales and dolphins took over the roles that large reptiles like mosasaurs and plesiosaurs once had. Because of these changes, the way living things interact with their environment, called the ecological landscape, became very different from the Mesozoic Era.
Images for kids
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Megafauna of Pleistocene Europe (mammoths, cave lions, woolly rhinos, reindeer, horses)
See also
In Spanish: Era cenozoica para niños
