Cretaceous

Rare card · No. 16292

The Cretaceous (IPA: krih-TAY-shəss) is a geological period that lasted from about 143.1 to 66 Ma (million years ago). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era, as well as the longest. At around 77.1 million years, it is the ninth and longest geological period of the entire Phanerozoic. The name is derived from the Latin creta, 'chalk', which is abundant in deposits from the latter half of the period. It is usually abbreviated K, for its German translation Kreide. The Cretaceous was a period with a relatively warm climate, resulting in high eustatic sea levels that created numerous shallow inland seas. These oceans and seas were populated with now-extinct marine reptiles, ammonites and rudists; while on land, dinosaurs continued to dominate. The world was largely ice-free – although there is some evidence of brief periods of glaciation during the cooler first half – and forests extended to the poles. Many of the dominant taxonomic groups present in modern times can be ultimately...

Read on Wikipedia · Image Scotese, Christopher R.; Vérard, Christian; Burgener, Landon; Elling, Reece P.; Kocsis, Ádám T., CC BY 4.0