South Pole
- 57.5 - 56.4
- 55.9 - 53.4
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Paleocene 65 - 55.8
- During the, the vast inland seas of the Cretaceous Period dry up, exposing large land areas in North America and Eurasia. Australia begins to separate from Antarctica, and Greenland splits from North America. A remnant Tethys Sea persists in the equatorial region.
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| - Mammalian life diversifies, spreading into all major environments. Placental mammals eventually dominate the land, and many differentiated forms evolve, including early ungulates (hoofed animals), primates, rodents, and carnivores. |
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- 61.7 - 58.7 Selandian Age |
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South Pole
- 53 - 52.9
- 52.8 - 52.7
- 52.4 - 51.8
- 51.2 - 51.1
- 50.9 - 49.6
- 49 - 47.9
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South Pole
- 46.3 - 43.8
- 42.6 - 41.6
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Eocene 55.8 - 33.7
- Plate tectonics and volcanic activity form the Rockies in western North America. Erosion fills basins. Continental collisions between India and Asia culminate in the Alpine-Himalayan mountain system. Antarctica and Australia continue to separate and drift apart.
The climate is subtropical and moist throughout North America and Europe.
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- Early forms of horse, rhinoceros,
camel, and other modern groups such as bats evolve in Europe and North America. Creodonts and ruminant ungulates evolve.
Archaic whales (archeocetes) evolve from terrestrial meat-eating ungulates. Sirenians (dugongs and manatees) first evolve in the shallow Tethys Sea. |
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South Pole
- 41.3 - 40.2
- 39.6 - 39.5
- 38.4 - 38.1
- 37.9 - 37.8
- 37.6 - 37.5
- 36.6 - 36.3
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Paleocene 65 - 54.8
- During the, the vast inland seas of the Cretaceous Period dry up, exposing large land areas in North America and Eurasia. Australia begins to separate from Antarctica, and Greenland splits from North America. A remnant Tethys Sea persists in the equatorial region.
|
| - Mammalian life diversifies, spreading into all major environments. Placental mammals eventually dominate the land, and many differentiated forms evolve, including early ungulates (hoofed animals), primates, rodents, and carnivores. |
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- 40.4 - 37.2 Bartonian Age of the Eocene Epoch |
- 40 Primates diverge into suborders Strepsirrhini (wet-nosed primates) and Haplorrhini (dry nosed primates). Strepsirrhini contains most of the prosimians; modern examples include the lemurs and lorises. The prosimian tarsiers, along with the simian monkeys and apes are the haplorrhines. One of the earliest haplorrhines is Teilhardina asiatica, a mouse-sized, diurnal creature with small eyes. |
South Pole
- 35.7 - 35.6
- 35.3 - 35
- 34.7 - 33.6
- 33.1 - 31
- 30.6 - 30.2
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- Tectonic plate movement is still very dynamic. Africa and Europe nearly collide, closing the Tethys Sea and leaving as a remnant the Mediterranean Sea. Volcanism and fragmentation of western North America is associated with the emplacement of major ore deposits.
The southeren ocean forms and the climate is generally temperate. Glaciation begins in Antarctica.
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- Representatives of modern mammals become the dominant vertebrate life form, including horses, pigs, true carnivores, rhinoceroses, elephants, and
camels. Oreodonts diversify in North America. Early primates appear in North America, and early apes appear in Egypt. Many archaic mammals become extinct.
The earliest representatives of modern cetaceans (baleen and "toothed" whales) evolve.
Grasslands expand, and forest regions diminish. |
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- 33.9 - 28.4 Rupelian Age |
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