FC: Mohammed Marafi 7-2
1: My period is the Paleogene Period | Topic Time introduction Plants Animals Climate Summary Bibliography | Page 2 4 6 8 10 12 14
2: The Paleogene - The Rise of Mammals 65 to 23 Million Years Ago | The Paleogene Period is divided into three epochs: Epoch Date Oligocene 34 to 23 millions years ago Eocene 55 to 34 millions years ago Paleocene 65 to 55 millions years ago
4: Introduction | At the beginning of the Paleogene period dinosaurs, pterosaurs, and giant marine reptiles disappeared from the Earth. The Paleogene period began with rodent sized mammals that filled the void after the disappearance of dinosaurs. This period also had the first grass species to exist. Temperatures during this period dropped and increased the temperature on the Seas surface rose between 9 and 14 degrees Fahrenheit. After the disappearance of dinosaurs other creatures came out to fill the empty world from the land, sea and sky.
6: Plants | Plants seemed to have suffered significantly after the asteroid impact and thus their recovery seems to have been slow. There is evidence from plant and animal fossils and remains that many species became extinct and never recovered. However with the warm temperatures of the early Paleogene, new plant soon flourished on every continent, primarily in the form of conifers and flowering plants. The ferns of the ancient world struggled to keep a foothold but soon lost ground and nearly disappeared in some areas. The warm tropical climate of the early part of the period produced lush vegetation and a thriving ecosystem; but as the continents continued to move apart, changing the circulation patterns of the oceans, the climate began to cool. About 35 million years ago, an extinction occurred that eliminated many of the thriving species that had appeared.
7: Many of these interesting creatures are now only preserved in fossil form. With the cooling temperatures in the middle of the Paleogene, the lush vegetation of the greenhouse climate was replaced by open savannas as the forests disappeared in the increasingly seasonal climate. With the savannas came all types of grasses which still appear today.
8: Immediately after the impact, the size of mammals, especially herbivores, increased dramatically as they filled in the vacant niches left by the dinosaur. After the disappearance of dinosaurs other creatures came out to fill the empty world from the land, sea and sky. Rodent-sized mammals appeared from the shadows of the night and started to fill the void. Some of these mammals would dominate the land while others would dominate the ocean and airborne environments. Fish filled the ocean to feed the sharks, which ruled quickly because of the disappearance of the Mosasaurs and plesiosaurs. Other animals started to fill the ocean like the squid and other soft boiled cephalopods and also sea snails filled the ocean. But had the biggest development in the ocean was the appearance of whales. Whales had started out as only land mammals, then through evolution they became the ocean mammals we know today. The first animals with different types of stomachs appeared in the late Oligocene allowing animals to digest the tough vegetation and enabled a diverse group of animals to develop. Other animals such as cats, dogs, elephants, deer and primates began to appear. Marine mammals appeared in the forms of enormous whales during the Oligocene. | Animals
9: Large flightless birds appeared, becoming the top predator in South America. By the middle of the Paleogene, modern birds appeared in the forms of eagles, vultures and even pelicans. Insects seemed to have suffered a serious setback after the impact and it wasn't until nearly 10 million years had passed that the insects began to recover in numbers and variety.Marine life looked more like our modern forms than had sharks became plentiful with many different body types. Early whales appeared also they had diversified into toothed whales and toothless whales.
10: Climate | The cooling and drying of the earth followed with a sudden temperature spike. The seas surface became 5 and 8 degrees Celsius higher than usual. This temperature spike caused numerous single-celled marine organisms called foraminifera to be killed. But the temperature spike did cause some good things to happen. The new humid subtropical conditions nurtured abundant palms and guavas. The temperature in this period was very hot and humid
12: Summary | At the beginning of the Paleogene period all the dinosaurs became extinct. instead other creatures came out and filled the empty space in the land, sea, and sky. one of the major appearance in this time was the whale. this period is mostly the return of the species after the dinosaurs.
14: Bibliography | "Paleogene - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia." Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Apr. 2013.