Time runs left (older) → right (younger) · Hover a card for details
Mammals diversify after dinosaur extinction (66-23 Ma).
66.00 Ma – 23.03 Ma · 42.97 Ma duration
Axis labels in Ma (millions of years ago) ·
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Paleogene Period 5
66 MaChicxulub ImpactAsteroid ends the Mesozoic10 km asteroid strikes Yucatan; triggers mass extinction.
66 MaEnd-Cretaceous ExtinctionK-Pg event — dinosaurs go extinctChicxulub asteroid impact ends the Mesozoic. Non-avian dinosaurs, mosasaurs and ammonites disappear.
56 Ma – 55.8 MaPaleocene-Eocene Thermal MaximumPETM — rapid global warmingGlobal temperatures rise 5-8 C in under 20,000 years; closest ancient analogue to modern climate change.
53 MaFirst WhalesReturn to the seaPakicetus and relatives begin transitioning from land to aquatic life.
33.9 Ma – 33.7 MaAntarctic Ice Sheet FormsEocene-Oligocene transitionDrake Passage opens; cold circumpolar current drives Antarctic glaciation.