El paleoceno

The Paleogene Period of the Cenozoic Era

The Paleogene
23 Million years 65 Million years
Paleocene, Eocene and Oligocene

The Cenozoic
(modern life)

The Age of Flowers & Mammals
orgrasses and rodents
or whales, sharks and penguins

Paleogene Life
• A lot of the record is found in the various badlands of Wyoming, the Dakotas, Montana, Colorado and Utah

Badlands NationalPark

Paleogene Life: Land
The evolutionary radiation of flowering plants The evolutionary radiation of Mammals as the dominant land animals. The emergence of grasses! Symbiotic relationshipsbetween Flowers and Insects, and between Grasses and many other animals including grazing animals, rodents and various carnivores Further development of early Primates The birds are big, but they’re notyellow and they’re not very friendly

Paleogene Life
• Mammals diversified
– Most modern orders present by Early Eocene

Fossil of Eomaia, the oldest known eutherian placental

PaleogeneLife
• Bats present by early Eocene

Paleogene Life
• Mammalian carnivores evolved by midPaleogene

Carnivora

Creodonts

Mesonychids, Mid-Paleocene Dog-like carnivoresAndrewsarchus, large carnivore (Early Eocene)

Ectocion Ralstonensis
Condylarthra is an order of extinct placental mammals known primarily from the Paleocene and Eocene epochs.

Skull of a Cave BearPaleogene Life
• Mammalian species doubled • Ungulates
– Odd-toed • Horses, tapirs, rhinos – Even-toed • Cloven-hoofed goats, sheep, pigs, cattle

Diacodexis, and even toed ungulate (EarlyEocene)

Ungulates (Hooved Animals)

Perissodactyls (Odd-Toed Ungulates)

Horses - Tapirs - Rhinos

Paleogene Life
• Earliest horses by end of Paleocene
– Size of small dogsHyracotherium (Eohippus)

Mesohippus)

Merychippus

Hipparion

Some highlights in horse evolution

More odd-toed ungulates

Wooly Rhino - Coelodonta

Paraceratherium

Paraceratherium...