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| This era is part of the Phanerozoic eon. |
| Cenozoic |
| Mesozoic |
| Paleozoic |
The Cenozoic or Cainozoic Era (sometimes Caenozoic Era) is the most recent of the four classic geological eras. It covers the 64 million years since the extinction event at the end of the Cretaceous that marked the demise of the last dinosaurs and the end of the Mesozoic Era.
Several different subdivisions have been applied to the Cenozoic. The most commonly encountered recognizes seven epochs -- Paleocene, Eocene, Oligocene, Miocene, Pliocene, PleistoceneThe Pleistocene epoch is part of the geologic timescale, usually dated as 1. 6 million to 10,000 years before present, with the end date expressed in radiocarbon years. It covers most of the latest period of repeated glaciation, up to and including the Yo, and HoloceneThe Holocene Epoch is a geologic period that extends from the present back about 10,000 radiocarbon years. The beginning of the Holocene was punctuated by the Younger Dryas cold period, the final part of Pleistocene epoch. The end of the Younger Dryas has. Less common is a division into two Periods Tertiary and Quaternary. The Tertiary is sometimes divided into the NeogeneNeogene Period A unit of geologic time consisting of the Miocene and Pliocene Epochs. The Neogene Period follows the Paleogene Period and is followed by the Quaternary Era. The terms 'Neogene System' and 'Upper Tertiary System' have also been used to desc and Paleogene.
The Cenozoic is the age of mammals. During the Cenozoic, mammals diverged from a few small, simple, generalized forms into a diverse collection of terrestrial, marine, and flying animals. Flowering plants and birds also evolved substantially in the Cenozoic.
Geologically, the Cenozoic is the era when continents moved into their current positions. Australia-New Guinea split from Gondwana to drift north and, eventually, abut South-east Asia; Antarctica moved into its current position over the South Pole; the Atlantic Ocean widened and, late in the Era, South America became attached to North America