Period Cretaceous Period

Cretaceous Period 17

• 130 Ma First Flowering Plants Angiosperms diversify Flowering plants appear and co-evolve with insects, eventually dominating terrestrial ecosystems.
• 126–122 Ma · Early Cretaceous Iguanodon First dinosaur discovered in Europe One of the first dinosaurs ever identified, Iguanodon was a large herbivore from Europe with distinctive thumb spikes. It could walk on two or four legs and lived in herds.
• 120 Ma – 90 Ma Ocean Anoxic Events Cretaceous dead zones Repeated episodes of ocean-wide anoxia during the Cretaceous.
• 115–108 Ma · Early Cretaceous Deinonychus Sickle-clawed pack hunter The discovery of Deinonychus in 1969 revolutionised our view of dinosaurs as active, intelligent animals. Its large sickle-shaped claw and likely pack-hunting behaviour inspired the Velociraptor of Jurassic Park.
• 112–93 Ma · Late Cretaceous Spinosaurus Largest carnivorous dinosaur ever Spinosaurus was probably the largest carnivorous dinosaur, reaching 14-18 metres. It had a distinctive sail on its back and was semi-aquatic, feeding largely on fish in the rivers of North Africa.
• 100–94 Ma · Late Cretaceous Carcharodontosaurus Shark-toothed giant of Africa Named for its shark-like teeth, Carcharodontosaurus rivalled Tyrannosaurus in size at 12-13 metres. One of the largest terrestrial predators ever, it hunted large sauropods in Cretaceous North Africa.
• 99–95 Ma · Late Cretaceous Giganotosaurus South America's giant predator One of the largest carnivorous dinosaurs, Giganotosaurus from Argentina may have slightly exceeded Tyrannosaurus in length at around 13 metres, though T. rex was more robustly built.
• 76–73 Ma · Late Cretaceous Parasaurolophus Crested hadrosaur with resonating crest A large herbivorous hadrosaur with a distinctive hollow bony crest on its head, used to produce low-frequency calls for communication within the herd. One of the most recognisable Cretaceous dinosaurs.
• 75–71 Ma · Late Cretaceous Velociraptor Feathered pack-hunting dromaeosaurid Far smaller than its Jurassic Park portrayal, Velociraptor was actually turkey-sized with feathers. What it lacked in size it made up for in intelligence and its deadly sickle-shaped claw. Found in Mongolia.
• 72–69 Ma · Late Cretaceous Carnotaurus Bull-horned predator of South America A distinctive theropod from Argentina with two prominent horns above its eyes like a bull. Carnotaurus had unusually small arms even for a theropod, and was likely a fast pursuit predator.
• 70–66 Ma · Late Cretaceous Pachycephalosaurus Dome-headed bone-head dinosaur Pachycephalosaurus had a skull dome up to 25cm thick, used in head-butting contests for dominance. One of the last non-avian dinosaurs, it lived right up to the K-Pg extinction.
• 70–68 Ma · Late Cretaceous Therizinosaurus Giant scythe-clawed herbivore Therizinosaurus had the longest claws of any known animal — up to 1 metre long. Despite its fearsome appearance it was a herbivore from Asia, using its enormous claws to pull down branches.
• 68–66 Ma · Late Cretaceous Ankylosaurus Living tank with bone club tail The ultimate armoured dinosaur — Ankylosaurus was covered in bony plates and had a massive tail club capable of shattering bone. One of the last and largest ankylosaurs, it lived until the K-Pg extinction.
• 68–66 Ma · Late Cretaceous Triceratops Three-horned giant of the Cretaceous One of the most iconic dinosaurs, Triceratops had three facial horns and a large bony frill. It was one of the last non-avian dinosaurs and likely clashed with Tyrannosaurus. Millions lived in western North America.
• 68–66 Ma · Late Cretaceous Tyrannosaurus rex King of the tyrant lizards The most famous dinosaur of all — Tyrannosaurus rex was 13 metres long, weighed up to 9 tonnes and had the most powerful bite of any land animal. It lived in the last 2 million years before the K-Pg extinction.
• 66 Ma Chicxulub Impact Asteroid ends the Mesozoic 10 km asteroid strikes Yucatan; triggers mass extinction.
• 66 Ma End-Cretaceous Extinction K-Pg event — dinosaurs go extinct Chicxulub asteroid impact ends the Mesozoic. Non-avian dinosaurs, mosasaurs and ammonites disappear.