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101-857: It is usually considered to be within the Paleocene . The Puercan directly follows the Lancian NALMA, with the K-Pg boundary and K-Pg mass extinction at 66 MYA representing the boundary between the two. The Puercan is followed by the Torrejonian NALMA stage. Puercan age fossils, from the Great Divide Basin , Wyoming , include three newly identified condylarth members of the Periptychidae ; Miniconus jeanninae , Conacodon hettingeri , Beornus honeyi The Puercan

202-480: A broad neocortex region of the brain, fur or hair , and three middle ear bones . These characteristics distinguish them from reptiles and birds , from which their ancestors diverged in the Carboniferous Period over 300 million years ago. Around 6,400 extant species of mammals have been described and divided into 27 orders . The largest orders of mammals, by number of species , are

303-735: A climate similar to the Pacific Northwest . On the Alaska North Slope , Metasequoia was the dominant conifer. Much of the diversity represented migrants from nearer the equator. Deciduousness was dominant, probably to conserve energy by retroactively shedding leaves and retaining some energy rather than having them die from frostbite. In south-central Alaska, the Chickaloon Formation preserves peat-forming swamps dominated by taxodiaceous conifers and clastic floodplains occupied by angiosperm–conifer forests. At

404-537: A defined deep-water thermocline (a warmer mass of water closer to the surface sitting on top of a colder mass nearer the bottom) persisting throughout the epoch. The Atlantic foraminifera indicate a general warming of sea surface temperature–with tropical taxa present in higher latitude areas–until the Late Paleocene when the thermocline became steeper and tropical foraminifera retreated back to lower latitudes. Early Paleocene atmospheric CO 2 levels at what

505-622: A depth of about 1,000 m (3,300 ft). The Danian deposits are sequestered into the Aitzgorri Limestone Formation , and the Selandian and early Thanetian into the Itzurun Formation . The Itzurun Formation is divided into groups A and B corresponding to the two stages respectively. The two stages were ratified in 2008, and this area was chosen because of its completion, low risk of erosion, proximity to

606-662: A higher rate than deciduous angiosperms as deciduous plants can become dormant in harsh conditions. In the Gulf Coast, angiosperms experienced another extinction event during the PETM, which they recovered quickly from in the Eocene through immigration from the Caribbean and Europe. During this time, the climate became warmer and wetter, and it is possible that angiosperms evolved to become stenotopic by this time, able to inhabit

707-441: A narrow range of temperature and moisture; or, since the dominant floral ecosystem was a highly integrated and complex closed-canopy rainforest by the middle Paleocene, the plant ecosystems were more vulnerable to climate change . There is some evidence that, in the Gulf Coast, there was an extinction event in the late Paleocene preceding the PETM, which may have been due to the aforementioned vulnerability of complex rainforests, and

808-424: A short time frame. The freezing temperatures probably reversed after three years and returned to normal within decades, sulfuric acid aerosols causing acid rain probably dissipated after 10 years, and dust from the impact blocking out sunlight and inhibiting photosynthesis would have lasted up to a year though potential global wildfires raging for several years would have released more particulates into

909-778: A single formation (a stratotype ) identifying the lower boundary of the stage. In 1989, the ICS decided to split the Paleocene into three stages: the Danian, Selandian, and Thanetian. The Danian was first defined in 1847 by German-Swiss geologist Pierre Jean Édouard Desor based on the Danish chalks at Stevns Klint and Faxse , and was part of the Cretaceous, succeeded by the Tertiary Montian Stage. In 1982, after it

1010-437: Is also evidence this occurred again 300,000 years later in the early Thanetian dubbed MPBE-2. Respectively, about 83 and 132 gigatons of methane-derived carbon were ejected into the atmosphere, which suggests a 2–3 °C (3.6–5.4 °F) rise in temperature, and likely caused heightened seasonality and less stable environmental conditions. It may have also caused an increase of grass in some areas. From 59.7 to 58.1 Ma, during

1111-421: Is considered to contain the following substages: This geochronology article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Paleocene The Paleocene ( IPA : / ˈ p æ l i . ə s iː n , - i . oʊ -, ˈ p eɪ l i -/ PAL -ee-ə-seen, -⁠ee-oh-, PAY -lee- ), or Palaeocene , is a geological epoch that lasted from about 66 to 56 million years ago (mya). It

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1212-537: Is controversial, but most likely about 2,500 years. This carbon also interfered with the carbon cycle and caused ocean acidification, and potentially altered and slowed down ocean currents, the latter leading to the expansion of oxygen minimum zones (OMZs) in the deep sea. In surface water, OMZs could have also been caused from the formation of strong thermoclines preventing oxygen inflow, and higher temperatures equated to higher productivity leading to higher oxygen usurpation. Further, expanding OMZs could have caused

1313-435: Is now Castle Rock , Colorado, were calculated to be between 352 and 1,110 parts per million (ppm), with a median of 616 ppm. Based on this and estimated plant-gas exchange rates and global surface temperatures, the climate sensitivity was calculated to be +3 °C when CO 2 levels doubled, compared to 7 °C following the formation of ice at the poles. CO 2 levels alone may have been insufficient in maintaining

1414-556: Is now the Mediterranean Sea tropical. South-central North America had a humid, monsoonal climate along its coastal plain, but conditions were drier to the west and at higher altitudes. Svalbard was temperate, having a mean temperature of 19.2 ± 2.49 °C during its warmest month and 1.7 ± 3.24 °С during its coldest. Global deep water temperatures in the Paleocene likely ranged from 8–12 °C (46–54 °F), compared to 0–3 °C (32–37 °F) in modern day. Based on

1515-572: Is primarily driven by human poaching and habitat destruction , primarily deforestation . Over 70% of mammal species are in the orders Rodentia , Chiroptera , and Eulipotyphla . Mammal classification has been through several revisions since Carl Linnaeus initially defined the class, and at present , no classification system is universally accepted. McKenna & Bell (1997) and Wilson & Reeder (2005) provide useful recent compendiums. Simpson (1945) provides systematics of mammal origins and relationships that had been taught universally until

1616-426: Is the viviparous placental mammals , so named for the temporary organ ( placenta ) used by offspring to draw nutrition from the mother during gestation . Most mammals are intelligent , with some possessing large brains, self-awareness , and tool use . Mammals can communicate and vocalize in several ways, including the production of ultrasound , scent marking , alarm signals , singing , echolocation ; and, in

1717-755: Is the first epoch of the Paleogene Period in the modern Cenozoic Era . The name is a combination of the Ancient Greek παλαιός palaiós meaning "old" and the Eocene Epoch (which succeeds the Paleocene), translating to "the old part of the Eocene". The epoch is bracketed by two major events in Earth's history. The K–Pg extinction event , brought on by an asteroid impact ( Chicxulub impact ) and possibly volcanism ( Deccan Traps ), marked

1818-548: Is why the GSSP was moved to Zumaia. Today, the beginning of the Selandian is marked by the appearances of the nannofossils Fasciculithus tympaniformis , Neochiastozygus perfectus , and Chiasmolithus edentulus , though some foraminifera are used by various authors. The Thanetian was first proposed by Swiss geologist Eugène Renevier , in 1873; he included the south England Thanet , Woolwich , and Reading formations. In 1880, French geologist Gustave Frédéric Dollfus narrowed

1919-820: The Antarctic Peninsula . In the Paleocene, the waterways between the Arctic Ocean and the North Atlantic were somewhat restricted, so North Atlantic Deep Water (NADW) and the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC)—which circulates cold water from the Arctic towards the equator—had not yet formed, and so deep water formation probably did not occur in the North Atlantic. The Arctic and Atlantic would not be connected by sufficiently deep waters until

2020-826: The Caribbean Plate ), which had formed from the Galápagos hotspot in the Pacific in the latest Cretaceous, was moving eastward as the North American and South American plates were getting pushed in the opposite direction due to the opening of the Atlantic ( strike-slip tectonics ). This motion would eventually uplift the Isthmus of Panama by 2.6 mya. The Caribbean Plate continued moving until about 50 mya when it reached its current position. The components of

2121-473: The Cretaceous . The relationships between these three lineages is contentious, and all three possible hypotheses have been proposed with respect to which group is basal . These hypotheses are Atlantogenata (basal Boreoeutheria), Epitheria (basal Xenarthra) and Exafroplacentalia (basal Afrotheria). Boreoeutheria in turn contains two major lineages— Euarchontoglires and Laurasiatheria . Estimates for

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2222-826: The Cretaceous Period and the Mesozoic Era , and initiated the Cenozoic Era and the Paleogene Period. It is divided into three ages : the Danian spanning 66 to 61.6 million years ago (mya), the Selandian spanning 61.6 to 59.2 mya, and the Thanetian spanning 59.2 to 56 mya. It is succeeded by the Eocene. The K–Pg boundary is clearly defined in the fossil record in numerous places around

2323-549: The Holarctic region (comprising most of the Northern Hemisphere) was mainly early members of Ginkgo , Metasequoia , Glyptostrobus , Macginitiea , Platanus , Carya , Ampelopsis , and Cercidiphyllum . Patterns in plant recovery varied significantly with latitude , climate, and altitude. For example, what is now Castle Rock, Colorado featured a rich rainforest only 1.4 million years after

2424-564: The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) completed a five-year Global Mammal Assessment for its IUCN Red List , which counted 5,488 species. According to research published in the Journal of Mammalogy in 2018, the number of recognized mammal species is 6,495, including 96 recently extinct. The word " mammal " is modern, from the scientific name Mammalia coined by Carl Linnaeus in 1758, derived from

2525-556: The Latin mamma ("teat, pap"). In an influential 1988 paper, Timothy Rowe defined Mammalia phylogenetically as the crown group of mammals, the clade consisting of the most recent common ancestor of living monotremes ( echidnas and platypuses ) and therian mammals ( marsupials and placentals ) and all descendants of that ancestor. Since this ancestor lived in the Jurassic period, Rowe's definition excludes all animals from

2626-536: The Paleocene–Eocene thermal maximum , a short period of intense warming and ocean acidification brought about by the release of carbon en masse into the atmosphere and ocean systems, which led to a mass extinction of 30–50% of benthic foraminifera –planktonic species which are used as bioindicators of the health of a marine ecosystem—one of the largest in the Cenozoic. This event happened around 55.8 mya, and

2727-809: The Quaternary from the Tertiary in 1829; and Scottish geologist Charles Lyell (ignoring the Quaternary) had divided the Tertiary Epoch into the Eocene , Miocene , Pliocene , and New Pliocene ( Holocene ) Periods in 1833. British geologist John Phillips had proposed the Cenozoic in 1840 in place of the Tertiary, and Austrian paleontologist Moritz Hörnes had introduced the Paleogene for

2828-530: The Transantarctic Mountains . The poles probably had a cool temperate climate; northern Antarctica, Australia, the southern tip of South America, what is now the US and Canada, eastern Siberia, and Europe warm temperate; middle South America, southern and northern Africa, South India, Middle America, and China arid; and northern South America, central Africa, North India, middle Siberia, and what

2929-606: The biological classification scheme used, are the primates : apes , monkeys , and lemurs ; the Cetartiodactyla : whales and even-toed ungulates ; and the Carnivora which includes cats , dogs , weasels , bears , seals , and allies. According to Mammal Species of the World , 5,416 species were identified in 2006. These were grouped into 1,229  genera , 153  families and 29 orders. In 2008,

3030-406: The dominant terrestrial animal group from 66 million years ago to the present. The basic mammalian body type is quadrupedal , with most mammals using four limbs for terrestrial locomotion ; but in some, the limbs are adapted for life at sea , in the air , in trees or underground . The bipeds have adapted to move using only the two lower limbs, while the rear limbs of cetaceans and

3131-847: The opening of the North Atlantic Ocean and seafloor spreading , the divergence of the Greenland Plate from the North American Plate , and, climatically, the PETM by dissociating methane clathrate crystals on the seafloor resulting in the mass release of carbon. North and South America remained separated by the Central American Seaway , though an island arc (the South Central American Arc) had already formed about 73 mya. The Caribbean Large Igneous Province (now

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3232-428: The rodents , bats , and Eulipotyphla (including hedgehogs , moles and shrews ). The next three are the primates (including humans , monkeys and lemurs ), the even-toed ungulates (including pigs , camels , and whales ), and the Carnivora (including cats , dogs , and seals ). Mammals are the only living members of Synapsida ; this clade , together with Sauropsida (reptiles and birds), constitutes

3333-439: The sea cows are mere internal vestiges . Mammals range in size from the 30–40 millimetres (1.2–1.6 in) bumblebee bat to the 30 metres (98 ft) blue whale —possibly the largest animal to have ever lived. Maximum lifespan varies from two years for the shrew to 211 years for the bowhead whale . All modern mammals give birth to live young, except the five species of monotremes , which lay eggs. The most species-rich group

3434-496: The water column . Though the temperature in the latest Danian varied at about the same magnitude, this event coincides with an increase of carbon. About 60.5 mya at the Danian/Selandian boundary, there is evidence of anoxia spreading out into coastal waters, and a drop in sea levels which is most likely explained as an increase in temperature and evaporation, as there was no ice at the poles to lock up water. During

3535-584: The Østerrende Clay . The beginning of this stage was defined by the end of carbonate rock deposition from an open ocean environment in the North Sea region (which had been going on for the previous 40 million years). The Selandian deposits in this area are directly overlain by the Eocene Fur Formation —the Thanetian was not represented here—and this discontinuity in the deposition record

3636-534: The Cretaceous, had receded. Between about 60.5 and 54.5 mya, there was heightened volcanic activity in the North Atlantic region—the third largest magmatic event in the last 150 million years—creating the North Atlantic Igneous Province . The proto- Iceland hotspot is sometimes cited as being responsible for the initial volcanism, though rifting and resulting volcanism have also contributed. This volcanism may have contributed to

3737-439: The Cretaceous, tropical or subtropical , and the poles were temperate , with an average global temperature of roughly 24–25 °C (75–77 °F). For comparison, the average global temperature for the period between 1951 and 1980 was 14 °C (57 °F). The latitudinal temperature gradient was approximately 0.24 °C per degree of latitude. The poles also lacked ice caps, though some alpine glaciation did occur in

3838-635: The Eocene and Neogene for the Miocene and Pliocene in 1853. After decades of inconsistent usage, the newly formed International Commission on Stratigraphy (ICS), in 1969, standardized stratigraphy based on the prevailing opinions in Europe: the Cenozoic Era subdivided into the Tertiary and Quaternary sub-eras, and the Tertiary subdivided into the Paleogene and Neogene Periods. In 1978, the Paleogene

3939-473: The Eocene". The Eocene, in turn, is derived from Ancient Greek eo— eos ἠώς meaning "dawn", and—cene kainos καινός meaning "new" or "recent", as the epoch saw the dawn of recent, or modern, life. Paleocene did not come into broad usage until around 1920. In North America and mainland Europe, the standard spelling is "Paleocene", whereas it is "Palaeocene" in the UK. Geologist T. C. R. Pulvertaft has argued that

4040-723: The K–Pg boundary, the largest the Mexican Chicxulub crater whose impact was a major precipitator of the K–Pg extinction, and also the Ukrainian Boltysh crater , dated to 65.4 mya the Canadian Eagle Butte crater (though it may be younger), the Vista Alegre crater (though this may date to about 115 mya ). Silicate glass spherules along the Atlantic coast of the U.S. indicate a meteor impact in

4141-430: The K–Pg extinction event, every land animal over 25 kg (55 lb) was wiped out, leaving open several niches at the beginning of the epoch. Mammal A mammal (from Latin mamma  'breast') is a vertebrate animal of the class Mammalia ( / m ə ˈ m eɪ l i . ə / ). Mammals are characterized by the presence of milk -producing mammary glands for feeding their young,

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4242-542: The Late Cretaceous became dominant trees in Patagonia, before going extinct. Some plant communities, such as those in eastern North America, were already experiencing an extinction event in the late Maastrichtian, particularly in the 1 million years before the K–Pg extinction event. The "disaster plants" that refilled the emptied landscape crowded out many Cretaceous plants, and resultantly, many went extinct by

4343-533: The Miocene about 24–17 mya. There is evidence that some plants and animals could migrate between India and Asia during the Paleocene, possibly via intermediary island arcs. In the modern thermohaline circulation , warm tropical water becomes colder and saltier at the poles and sinks ( downwelling or deep water formation) that occurs at the North Atlantic near the North Pole and the Southern Ocean near

4444-728: The Northern Component Waters by Greenland in the Eocene—the predecessor of the AMOC—may have caused an intense warming in the North Hemisphere and cooling in the Southern, as well as an increase in deep water temperatures. In the PETM, it is possible deep water formation occurred in saltier tropical waters and moved polewards, which would increase global surface temperatures by warming the poles. Also, Antarctica

4545-412: The Paleocene, especially at the end, in tandem with the increasing global temperature. At the North Pole, woody angiosperms had become the dominant plants, a reversal from the Cretaceous where herbs proliferated. The Iceberg Bay Formation on Ellesmere Island , Nunavut (latitude 75 – 80 ° N) shows remains of a late Paleocene dawn redwood forest, the canopy reaching around 32 m (105 ft), and

4646-473: The Paleocene, with a global average temperature of about 24–25 °C (75–77 °F), compared to 14 °C (57 °F) in more recent times, the Earth had a greenhouse climate without permanent ice sheets at the poles, like the preceding Mesozoic . As such, there were forests worldwide—including at the poles—but they had low species richness in regards to plant life, and were populated by mainly small creatures that were rapidly evolving to take advantage of

4747-531: The South Pole, due to the increasing isolation of Antarctica, many plant taxa were endemic to the continent instead of migrating down. Patagonian flora may have originated in Antarctica. The climate was much cooler than in the Late Cretaceous, though frost probably was not common in at least coastal areas. East Antarctica was likely warm and humid. Because of this, evergreen forests could proliferate as, in

4848-429: The Thanetian is best correlated with the C26r/C26n reversal. Several economically important coal deposits formed during the Paleocene, such as the sub-bituminous Fort Union Formation in the Powder River Basin of Wyoming and Montana, which produces 43% of American coal; the Wilcox Group in Texas, the richest deposits of the Gulf Coastal Plain ; and the Cerrejón mine in Colombia, the largest open-pit mine in

4949-427: The Turgai route connecting Europe with Asia (which were otherwise separated by the Turgai Strait at this time). The Laramide orogeny , which began in the Late Cretaceous, continued to uplift the Rocky Mountains ; it ended at the end of the Paleocene. Because of this and a drop in sea levels resulting from tectonic activity, the Western Interior Seaway , which had divided the continent of North America for much of

5050-438: The absence of frost and a low probability of leaves dying, it was more energy efficient to retain leaves than to regrow them every year. One possibility is that the interior of the continent favored deciduous trees, though prevailing continental climates may have produced winters warm enough to support evergreen forests. As in the Cretaceous, podocarpaceous conifers, Nothofagus , and Proteaceae angiosperms were common. In

5151-422: The algae Discoaster and a diversification of Heliolithus , though the best correlation is in terms of paleomagnetism . A chron is the occurrence of a geomagnetic reversal —when the North and South poles switch polarities . Chron 1 (C1n) is defined as modern day to about 780,000 years ago, and the n denotes "normal" as in the polarity of today, and an r "reverse" for the opposite polarity. The beginning of

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5252-507: The atmosphere. For the following half million years, the carbon isotope gradient—a difference in the C / C ratio between surface and deep ocean water, causing carbon to cycle into the deep sea—may have shut down. This, termed a "Strangelove ocean", indicates low oceanic productivity ; resultant decreased phytoplankton activity may have led to a reduction in cloud seeds and, thus, marine cloud brightening , causing global temperatures to increase by 6 °C ( CLAW hypothesis ). Following

5353-399: The beginning of the Paleocene and killed off 75% of species, most famously the non-avian dinosaurs. The end of the epoch was marked by the Paleocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM), which was a major climatic event wherein about 2,500–4,500 gigatons of carbon were released into the atmosphere and ocean systems, causing a spike in global temperatures and ocean acidification . In the Paleocene,

5454-418: The boundary; for example, in the Williston Basin of North Dakota, an estimated 1/3 to 3/5 of plant species went extinct. The K–Pg extinction event ushered in a floral turnover; for example, the once commonplace Araucariaceae conifers were almost fully replaced by Podocarpaceae conifers, and the Cheirolepidiaceae , a group of conifers that had dominated during most of the Mesozoic but had become rare during

5555-421: The case of humans, complex language . Mammals can organize themselves into fission–fusion societies , harems , and hierarchies —but can also be solitary and territorial . Most mammals are polygynous , but some can be monogamous or polyandrous . Domestication of many types of mammals by humans played a major role in the Neolithic Revolution , and resulted in farming replacing hunting and gathering as

5656-757: The clade originating with the last common ancestor of Sinoconodon and living mammals. The earliest-known synapsid satisfying Kemp's definitions is Tikitherium , dated 225 Ma , so the appearance of mammals in this broader sense can be given this Late Triassic date. However, this animal may have actually evolved during the Neogene. As of the early 21st century, molecular studies based on DNA analysis have suggested new relationships among mammal families. Most of these findings have been independently validated by retrotransposon presence/absence data . Classification systems based on molecular studies reveal three major groups or lineages of placental mammals— Afrotheria , Xenarthra and Boreoeutheria —which diverged in

5757-444: The closest thing to an official classification of mammals, despite its known issues. Most mammals, including the six most species-rich orders , belong to the placental group. The three largest orders in numbers of species are Rodentia : mice , rats , porcupines , beavers , capybaras , and other gnawing mammals; Chiroptera : bats; and Eulipotyphla : shrews , moles , and solenodons . The next three biggest orders, depending on

5858-424: The continents of the Northern Hemisphere were still connected via some land bridges ; and South America, Antarctica, and Australia had not completely separated yet. The Rocky Mountains were being uplifted, the Americas had not yet joined, the Indian Plate had begun its collision with Asia, and the North Atlantic Igneous Province was forming in the third-largest magmatic event of the last 150 million years. In

5959-559: The country. Paleocene coal has been mined extensively in Svalbard , Norway, since near the beginning of the 20th century, and late Paleocene and early Eocene coal is widely distributed across the Canadian Arctic Archipelago and northern Siberia. In the North Sea, Paleocene-derived natural gas reserves, when they were discovered, totaled approximately 2.23 trillion m (7.89 trillion ft ), and oil in place 13.54 billion barrels. Important phosphate deposits—predominantly of francolite —near Métlaoui , Tunisia were formed from

6060-404: The dark forest floor, and epiphytism where a plant grows on another plant in response to less space on the forest floor. Despite increasing density—which could act as fuel—wildfires decreased in frequency from the Cretaceous to the early Eocene as the atmospheric oxygen levels decreased to modern day levels, though they may have been more intense. There was a major die-off of plant species over

6161-405: The definition to just the Thanet Formation. The Thanetian begins a little after the mid-Paleocene biotic event —a short-lived climatic event caused by an increase in methane —recorded at Itzurun as a dark 1 m (3.3 ft) interval from a reduction of calcium carbonate . At Itzurun, it begins about 29 m (95 ft) above the base of the Selandian, and is marked by the first appearance of

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6262-471: The earlier Triassic , despite the fact that Triassic fossils in the Haramiyida have been referred to the Mammalia since the mid-19th century. If Mammalia is considered as the crown group, its origin can be roughly dated as the first known appearance of animals more closely related to some extant mammals than to others. Ambondro is more closely related to monotremes than to therian mammals while Amphilestes and Amphitherium are more closely related to

6363-411: The early to middle Eocene. There is evidence of deep water formation in the North Pacific to at least a depth of about 2,900 m (9,500 ft). The elevated global deep water temperatures in the Paleocene may have been too warm for thermohaline circulation to be predominately heat driven. It is possible that the greenhouse climate shifted precipitation patterns, such that the Southern Hemisphere

6464-529: The ecosystem may have been disrupted by only a small change in climate. The warm Paleocene climate, much like that of the Cretaceous , allowed for diverse polar forests. Whereas precipitation is a major factor in plant diversity nearer the equator, polar plants had to adapt to varying light availability ( polar nights and midnight suns ) and temperatures. Because of this, plants from both poles independently evolved some similar characteristics, such as broad leaves. Plant diversity at both poles increased throughout

6565-451: The end of the 20th century. However, since 1945, a large amount of new and more detailed information has gradually been found: The paleontological record has been recalibrated, and the intervening years have seen much debate and progress concerning the theoretical underpinnings of systematization itself, partly through the new concept of cladistics . Though fieldwork and lab work progressively outdated Simpson's classification, it remains

6666-403: The event, probably due to a rain shadow effect causing regular monsoon seasons. Conversely, low plant diversity and a lack of specialization in insects in the Colombian Cerrejón Formation , dated to 58 mya, indicates the ecosystem was still recovering from the K–Pg extinction event 7 million years later. Flowering plants ( angiosperms ), which had become dominant among forest taxa by

6767-399: The extreme disruptions in the aftermath of the K-Pg extinction event, the relatively cool, though still greenhouse, conditions of the Late Cretaceous–Early Palaeogene Cool Interval (LKEPCI) that began in the Late Cretaceous continued. The Dan –C2 Event 65.2 mya in the early Danian spanned about 100,000 years, and was characterized by an increase in carbon, particularly in the deep sea. Since

6868-423: The former southern supercontinent Gondwanaland in the Southern Hemisphere continued to drift apart, but Antarctica was still connected to South America and Australia. Africa was heading north towards Europe, and the Indian subcontinent towards Asia, which would eventually close the Tethys Ocean . The Indian and Eurasian Plates began colliding in the Paleocene, with uplift (and a land connection) beginning in

6969-453: The greenhouse climate, and some positive feedbacks must have been active, such as some combination of cloud, aerosol, or vegetation related processes. A 2019 study identified changes in orbital eccentricity as the dominant drivers of climate between the late Cretaceous and the early Eocene. The effects of the meteor impact and volcanism 66 mya and the climate across the K–Pg boundary were likely fleeting, and climate reverted to normal in

7070-435: The larger Amniota clade. Early synapsids are referred to as " pelycosaurs ." The more advanced therapsids became dominant during the Guadalupian . Mammals originated from cynodonts , an advanced group of therapsids, during the Late Triassic to Early Jurassic . Mammals achieved their modern diversity in the Paleogene and Neogene periods of the Cenozoic era, after the extinction of non-avian dinosaurs , and have been

7171-410: The late Danian, there was a warming event and evidence of ocean acidification associated with an increase in carbon; at this time, there was major seafloor spreading in the Atlantic and volcanic activity along the southeast margin of Greenland. The Latest Danian Event, also known as the Top Chron C27n Event, lasted about 200,000 years and resulted in a 1.6–2.8 °C increase in temperatures throughout

7272-871: The late Paleocene to the early Eocene. Impact craters formed in the Paleocene include: the Connolly Basin crater in Western Australia less than 60 mya, the Texan Marquez crater 58 mya, the Greenlandic Hiawatha Glacier crater 58 mya, and possibly the Jordan Jabel Waqf as Suwwan crater which dates to between 56 and 37 mya. Vanadium -rich osbornite from the Isle of Skye , Scotland, dating to 60 mya may be impact ejecta . Craters were also formed near

7373-491: The late Selandian and early Thanetian, organic carbon burial resulted in a period of climatic cooling, sea level fall and transient ice growth. This interval saw the highest δ O values of the epoch. The Paleocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum was an approximately 200,000-year-long event where the global average temperature rose by some 5 to 8 °C (9 to 14 °F), and mid-latitude and polar areas may have exceeded modern tropical temperatures of 24–29 °C (75–84 °F). This

7474-478: The latter spelling is incorrect because this would imply either a translation of "old recent" or a derivation from "pala" and "Eocene", which would be incorrect because the prefix palæo- uses the ligature æ instead of "a" and "e" individually, so only both characters or neither should be dropped, not just one. The Paleocene Epoch is the 10 million year time interval directly after the K–Pg extinction event , which ended

7575-562: The mid- Maastrichtian , more and more carbon had been sequestered in the deep sea possibly due to a global cooling trend and increased circulation into the deep sea. The Dan–C2 event may represent a release of this carbon after deep sea temperatures rose to a certain threshold, as warmer water can dissolve less carbon. Alternatively, the cause of the Dan-C2 event may have been a pulse of Deccan Traps volcanism. Savanna may have temporarily displaced forestland in this interval. Around 62.2 mya in

7676-573: The mid-Palaeocene biotic event (MPBE), also known as the Early Late Palaeocene Event (ELPE), around 59 Ma (roughly 50,000 years before the Selandian/Thanetian boundary), the temperature spiked probably due to a mass release of the deep sea methane hydrate into the atmosphere and ocean systems. Carbon was probably output for 10–11,000 years, and the aftereffects likely subsided around 52–53,000 years later. There

7777-399: The middle Cretaceous 110–90 mya, continued to develop and proliferate, more so to take advantage of the recently emptied niches and an increase in rainfall. Along with them coevolved the insects that fed on these plants and pollinated them. Predation by insects was especially high during the PETM. Many fruit-bearing plants appeared in the Paleocene in particular, probably to take advantage of

7878-432: The middle Paleocene. The strata immediately overlaying the K–Pg extinction event are especially rich in fern fossils. Ferns are often the first species to colonize areas damaged by forest fires , so this " fern spike " may mark the recovery of the biosphere following the impact (which caused blazing fires worldwide). The diversifying herb flora of the early Paleocene either represent pioneer species which re-colonized

7979-604: The newly evolving birds and mammals for seed dispersal . In what is now the Gulf Coast , angiosperm diversity increased slowly in the early Paleocene, and more rapidly in the middle and late Paleocene. This may have been because the effects of the K–Pg extinction event were still to some extent felt in the early Paleocene, the early Paleocene may not have had as many open niches, early angiosperms may not have been able to evolve at such an accelerated rate as later angiosperms, low diversity equates to lower evolution rates, or there

8080-474: The oceans, the thermohaline circulation probably was much different from what it is today, with downwellings occurring in the North Pacific rather than the North Atlantic, and water density mainly being controlled by salinity rather than temperature. The K–Pg extinction event caused a floral and faunal turnover of species, with previously abundant species being replaced by previously uncommon ones. In

8181-434: The original areas the stages were defined, accessibility, and the protected status of the area due to its geological significance. The Selandian was first proposed by Danish geologist Alfred Rosenkrantz in 1924 based on a section of fossil-rich glauconitic marls overlain by gray clay which unconformably overlies Danian chalk and limestone . The area is now subdivided into the Æbelø Formation , Holmehus Formation , and

8282-716: The primary source of food for humans. This led to a major restructuring of human societies from nomadic to sedentary, with more co-operation among larger and larger groups, and ultimately the development of the first civilizations . Domesticated mammals provided, and continue to provide, power for transport and agriculture, as well as food ( meat and dairy products ), fur , and leather . Mammals are also hunted and raced for sport, kept as pets and working animals of various types, and are used as model organisms in science. Mammals have been depicted in art since Paleolithic times, and appear in literature, film, mythology, and religion. Decline in numbers and extinction of many mammals

8383-444: The proliferation of sulfate-reducing microorganisms which create highly toxic hydrogen sulfide H 2 S as a waste product. During the event, the volume of sulfidic water may have been 10–20% of total ocean volume, in comparison to today's 1%. This may have also caused chemocline upwellings along continents and the dispersal of H 2 S into the atmosphere. During the PETM there was a temporary dwarfing of mammals apparently caused by

8484-610: The proposal was officially published in 2006. The Selandian and Thanetian are both defined in Itzurun beach by the Basque town of Zumaia , 43°18′02″N 2°15′34″W  /  43.3006°N 2.2594°W  / 43.3006; -2.2594 , as the area is a continuous early Santonian to early Eocene sea cliff outcrop . The Paleocene section is an essentially complete, exposed record 165 m (541 ft) thick, mainly composed of alternating hemipelagic sediments deposited at

8585-461: The recently emptied Earth. Though some animals attained great size, most remained rather small. The forests grew quite dense in the general absence of large herbivores. Mammals proliferated in the Paleocene, and the earliest placental and marsupial mammals are recorded from this time, but most Paleocene taxa have ambiguous affinities . In the seas, ray-finned fish rose to dominate open ocean and recovering reef ecosystems. The word "Paleocene"

8686-404: The recently emptied landscape, or a response to the increased amount of shade provided in a forested landscape. Lycopods , ferns, and angiosperm shrubs may have been important components of the Paleocene understory . In general, the forests of the Paleocene were species-poor, and diversity did not fully recover until the end of the Paleocene. For example, the floral diversity of what is now

8787-675: The region at the PETM. During the Paleocene, the continents continued to drift toward their present positions. In the Northern Hemisphere, the former components of Laurasia (North America and Eurasia) were, at times, connected via land bridges: Beringia (at 65.5 and 58 mya) between North America and East Asia, the De Geer route (from 71 to 63 mya) between Greenland and Scandinavia , the Thulean route (at 57 and 55.8 mya) between North America and Western Europe via Greenland, and

8888-823: The same is true in the North Dakotan Almont/Beicegel Creek —such as Ochnaceae , Cyclocarya , and Ginkgo cranei —indicating the same floral families have characterized South American rainforests and the American Western Interior since the Paleocene. The extinction of large herbivorous dinosaurs may have allowed the forests to grow quite dense, and there is little evidence of wide open plains. Plants evolved several techniques to cope with high plant density, such as buttressing to better absorb nutrients and compete with other plants, increased height to reach sunlight, larger diaspore in seeds to provide added nutrition on

8989-548: The therians; as fossils of all three genera are dated about 167 million years ago in the Middle Jurassic , this is a reasonable estimate for the appearance of the crown group. T. S. Kemp has provided a more traditional definition: " Synapsids that possess a dentary – squamosal jaw articulation and occlusion between upper and lower molars with a transverse component to the movement" or, equivalently in Kemp's view,

9090-471: The upper limit, average sea surface temperatures (SSTs) at 60° N and S would have been the same as deep sea temperatures, at 30° N and S about 23 °C (73 °F), and at the equator about 28 °C (82 °F). In the Danish Palaeocene sea, SSTs were cooler than those of the preceding Late Cretaceous and the succeeding Eocene. The Paleocene foraminifera assemblage globally indicates

9191-581: The upward excursion in temperature. The warm, wet climate supported tropical and subtropical forests worldwide, mainly populated by conifers and broad-leafed trees. In Patagonia, the landscape supported tropical rainforests , cloud rainforests , mangrove forests , swamp forests , savannas , and sclerophyllous forests. In the Colombian Cerrejón Formation , fossil flora belong to the same families as modern day flora—such as palm trees , legumes , aroids , and malvales —and

9292-599: The world by a high- iridium band, as well as discontinuities with fossil flora and fauna. It is generally thought that a 10 to 15 km (6 to 9 mi) wide asteroid impact, forming the Chicxulub Crater in the Yucatán Peninsula in the Gulf of Mexico , and Deccan Trap volcanism caused a cataclysmic event at the boundary resulting in the extinction of 75% of all species. The Paleocene ended with

9393-455: Was due to an ejection of 2,500–4,500 gigatons of carbon into the atmosphere, most commonly explained as the perturbation and release of methane clathrate deposits in the North Atlantic from tectonic activity and resultant increase in bottom water temperatures. Other proposed hypotheses include methane release from the heating of organic matter at the seafloor rather than methane clathrates, or melting permafrost . The duration of carbon output

9494-463: Was first used by French paleobotanist and geologist Wilhelm Philipp Schimper in 1874 while describing deposits near Paris (spelled "Paléocène" in his treatise). By this time, Italian geologist Giovanni Arduino had divided the history of life on Earth into the Primary ( Paleozoic ), Secondary ( Mesozoic ), and Tertiary in 1759; French geologist Jules Desnoyers had proposed splitting off

9595-581: Was not a major contributor to the greenhouse climate, and deep water temperatures more likely change as a response to global temperature change rather than affecting it. In the Arctic, coastal upwelling may have been largely temperature and wind-driven. In summer, the land surface temperature was probably higher than oceanic temperature, and the opposite was true in the winter, which is consistent with monsoon seasons in Asia. Open-ocean upwelling may have also been possible. The Paleocene climate was, much like in

9696-429: Was not much angiosperm migration into the region in the early Paleocene. Over the K–Pg extinction event, angiosperms had a higher extinction rate than gymnosperms (which include conifers, cycads , and relatives) and pteridophytes (ferns, horsetails , and relatives); zoophilous angiosperms (those that relied on animals for pollination) had a higher rate than anemophilous angiosperms; and evergreen angiosperms had

9797-558: Was officially defined as the Paleocene, Eocene, and Oligocene Epochs; and the Neogene as the Miocene and Pliocene Epochs. In 1989, Tertiary and Quaternary were removed from the time scale due to the arbitrary nature of their boundary, but Quaternary was reinstated in 2009. The term "Paleocene" is a portmanteau combination of the Ancient Greek palaios παλαιός meaning "old", and the word "Eocene", and so means "the old part of

9898-439: Was one of the most significant periods of global change during the Cenozoic. Geologists divide the rocks of the Paleocene into a stratigraphic set of smaller rock units called stages , each formed during corresponding time intervals called ages. Stages can be defined globally or regionally. For global stratigraphic correlation, the ICS ratify global stages based on a Global Boundary Stratotype Section and Point (GSSP) from

9999-540: Was shown that the Danian and the Montian are the same, the ICS decided to define the Danian as starting with the K–Pg boundary, thus ending the practice of including the Danian in the Cretaceous. In 1991, the GSSP was defined as a well-preserved section in the El Haria Formation near El Kef , Tunisia, 36°09′13″N 8°38′55″E  /  36.1537°N 8.6486°E  / 36.1537; 8.6486 , and

10100-508: Was still connected to South America and Australia, and, because of this, the Antarctic Circumpolar Current —which traps cold water around the continent and prevents warm equatorial water from entering—had not yet formed. Its formation may have been related in the freezing of the continent. Warm coastal upwellings at the poles would have inhibited permanent ice cover. Conversely, it is possible deep water circulation

10201-556: Was wetter than the Northern, or the Southern experienced less evaporation than the Northern. In either case, this would have made the Northern more saline than the Southern, creating a density difference and a downwelling in the North Pacific traveling southward. Deep water formation may have also occurred in the South Atlantic. It is largely unknown how global currents could have affected global temperature. The formation of

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