The Cenozoic Era. Age of Mammals

195 Pages·2010·4.28 MB·English

by  Britannica Educational Publishing

THE CENOZOIC ERA
AGE OF MAMMALS
THE GEOLOGIC HISTORY OF EARTH
THE CENOZOIC ERA
AGE OF MAMMALS
EDITED BY JOHN P. RAFFERTY, ASSOCIATE EDITOR, EARTH SCIENCES
Published in 2011 by Britannica Educational Publishing
(a trademark of Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.)
in association with Rosen Educational Services, LLC
29 East 21st Street, New York, NY 10010
Copyright © 2011 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. Britannica, Encyclopædia
Britannica, and the Thistle logo are registered trademarks of Encyclopædia
Britannica, Inc. All rights reserved.
Rosen Educational Services materials copyright © 2011 Rosen Educational
Services, LLC.
All rights reserved.
Distributed exclusively by Rosen Educational Services.
For a listing of additional Britannica Educational Publishing titles, call toll free
[phone].
First Edition
Britannica Educational Publishing
Michael I. Levy: Executive Editor
J.E. Luebering: Senior Manager
Marilyn L. Barton: Senior Coordinator, Production Control
Steven Bosco: Director, Editorial Technologies
Lisa S. Braucher: Senior Producer and Data Editor
Yvette Charboneau: Senior Copy Editor
Kathy Nakamura: Manager, Media Acquisition
John P. Rafferty: Associate Editor, Earth Sciences
Rosen Educational Services
Heather M. Moore Niver: Rosen Editor
Nelson Sá: Designer
Cindy Reiman: Photography Manager
Matthew Cauli: Designer, Cover Design
Introduction by Cathy Vanderhoof
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
The Cenozoic era : age of mammals / edited by John P. Rafferty.
p. cm. — (The geologic history of Earth)
In association with Britannica Educational Publishing, Rosen Educational
Services
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-61530194-2 (eBook)
1. Geology, Stratigraphic—Cenozoic. 2. Paleoecology—Cenozoic. 3.
Paleontology—
Cenozoic. I. Rafferty, John P.
QE690.C416 2011
560’.178—dc22
2010010471
Manufactured in the United States of America
On the cover: Extinction of the rapacious reptile transformed Earth’s
population as the mammal flourished throughout the Cenozoic era. Manoj
Shah/Stone/Getty Images
On page 12: The Mississippi River is associated with large marine delta
deposits of Quaternary age. James L. Stanfield/National Geographic/Getty
Images
On pages 5, 21, 30, 73, 104, 127, 163, 201, 231, 232, 234, and 236: “Lucy,”
the most famous Australopithecus fossil specimen, dates back to the Late
Pliocene Epoch. Dave Einsel/Getty Images
CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION
CHAPTER 1: AN OVERVIEW OF CENOZOIC TIME
Geologic Processes
Cenozoic Life
CHAPTER 2: THE TERTIARY PERIOD
The Tertiary Environment
Paleogeography
Paleoclimate
Tertiary Life
Flowering Plants and Grasses
Birds
The Rise of Mammals
Mammalian Migration from Eurasia to North America
Mammalian Migration Between North and South America
Primates
Life in the Oceans
Marine Extinctions and Recovery
The Radiation of Invertebrates
Large Marine Animals
Foraminiferans
Tertiary Rocks
The Major Subdivisions of the Tertiary System
The Occurrence and Distribution of Tertiary Deposits
Volcanism and Orogenesis
Sedimentary Sequences
Establishing Tertiary Boundaries
The Correlation of Tertiary Strata
CHAPTER 3: THE PALEOGENE PERIOD
The Paleocene Epoch
Danian Stage
Selandian Stage
Thanetian Stage
The Eocene Epoch
Ypresian Stage
Lutetian Stage
Bartonian Stage
Priabonian Stage
The Oligocene Epoch
Rupelian Stage
Chattian Stage
Significant Life-forms of the Paleogene Period
Arsinoitherium
Barylambda
Basilosaurus
Borhyaenidae
Brontothere
Coryphodon
Dawn Horse
Diatryma
Hyaenodon
Indricotherium
Litoptern
Mesohippus
Miacis
Miohippus
Moeritherium
Notharctus
Notoungulata
Nummulites
Olive Shell