Paleocene Earth
PALEOCENE

THE PALEOCENE EPOCH
65 TO 55 Million Years Ago

The Age of Recovery
Mammals Emerge in the Post-Dinosaur World
Those who escape the sword and return to the land . . . will be very few. - Jeremiah 44:28

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Paleo-Geography

  • Epoch begins with earth devestated by asteroid impact
  • North America and Eurasia connected off and on
  • Africa, South America, Antarctica, Australia, and India
    (an island continent) continue to separate
  • Pacific Ocean shrianks as Atlantic Ocean widens
  • Climate warm and humid world-wide

Life

  • Ferns fill post-asteroid world until forests regrow
  • Mammals, though still small (right), "explode" into
    the land niches formely dominated by the dinosaurs
  • Large, flightles birds (below) become top predators
  • Flowering plants (angiosperms) flourish & spread
  • Palms and cacti appear

  
 
Gastornis (left) and other large   flightless birds briefly ruled as   top predators until mammals   grew bigger.

            (Image: Radelow)

             Mammals Re-emerge in the Paleocene Forests
          (Image: Palaeos/Book of Life)

 

 

 

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