The Cretaceous (IPA: / k r ɪ ˈ t eɪ ʃ ə s / krih-TAY-shəss) [2] is a geological period that lasted from about 143.1 to 66 million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era, as well as the longest. At around 77 million years, it is the ninth and longest geological period of the entire Phanerozoic.

Jan 29, 2025 · Cretaceous Period, in geologic time, the last of the three periods of the Mesozoic Era. It began 145 million years ago and ended 66 million years ago and featured the extinction of the dinosaurs at the end of the period.

During this period, oceans formed as land shifted and broke out of one big supercontinent into smaller ones. Continents were on the move in the Cretaceous, busy remodeling the shape and tone of...

The meaning of CRETACEOUS is of, relating to, or being the last period of the Mesozoic era characterized by continued dominance of reptiles, emergent dominance of angiosperms, diversification of mammals, and the extinction of many types of organisms at the close of the period; also : of, relating to, or being the corresponding system of rocks.

Apr 15, 2014 · It is the last period of the Mesozoic Era, and, spanning 79 million years, the longest period of the Phanerozoic Eon. The Cretaceous was a period with a relatively warm climate, resulting in high eustatic sea levels and creating numerous shallow inland seas.

It is during the Cretaceous that the first ceratopsian and pachycepalosaurid dinosaurs appeared. Also during this time, we find the first fossils of many insect groups, modern mammal and bird groups, and the first flowering plants.

The Cretaceous Period lasted for nearly 80 million years. Discover what the climate was like in this geological period, where the continents were and what animals and plants lived on them. Find out how an asteroid ended the age of dinosaurs.

Cretaceous Period, Interval of geologic time from c. 145 million to 66 million years ago. During the Cretaceous the climate was warmer than today. In the seas, marine invertebrates flourished, and bony fishes evolved. On land, flowering plants arose, and insects, bees in particular, began their thriving partnership with them.

The Cretaceous is defined as the period between 145.5 and 65.5 million years ago,* the last period of the Mesozoic Era, following the Jurassic and ending with the extinction of the dinosaurs (except birds). By the beginning of the Cretaceous, the supercontinent Pangea was already rifting apart, and by the mid-Cretaceous, it had split into ...

Jul 26, 2022 · The Cretaceous period lasted approximately 79 million years, and ended with a major extinction event about 66 million years ago.