The Age of Mammals
The Cenozoic Era, which began 66 million years ago and continues to the present, is widely known as the "Age of Mammals". This is because, following the extinction of the non-avian dinosaurs, mammals diversified and became the dominant land animals. The era is divided into three periods: the Paleogene, Neogene, and Quaternary.
The Cenozoic Era began after the Cretaceous-Paleogene extinction event 66mya, which wiped out the non-avian dinosaurs, creating ecological niches that mammals were able to fill.
Geological Time Scale:
- Cenozoic Era: 66 million years ago to present
- Paleogene Period: 66 to 23 million years ago
- Oligocene Epoch: 34 to 23 million years ago
- Neogene Period: 23 to 2.58 million years ago
- Miocene Epoch: 23 to 5.3 million years ago
- Pliocene Epoch: 5.3 to 2.6 million years ago
- Quaternary Period: 2.58 million years ago (100 Great Years ago) to present
- Pleistocene Epoch: 2.58 million years ago to about 11,700 years ago
- Holocene Epoch: 11,700 years ago to present
- Paleogene Period: 66 to 23 million years ago
Matria Esh's dinos were wiped out 72mya.
MAMMAL ETYMOLOGY
MAT MATRIA > MA MA LIA =Orion Orion Orion - 3 great epochs.
The "third great extinction"
refers to the catastrophic Permian-Triassic (P-T) Extinction Event, also called "The Great Dying," around 252 million years ago, Earth's worst extinction, wiping out ~90-96% of species,
Occurred at the boundary between the Permian and Triassic periods, approximately 251.9 million years ago.
The first true mammals appeared in the Late Triassic period, with the earliest known fossils dated to around 225-205 mya.
Proto-mammals (Synapsids)
The lineage leading to mammals, known as synapsids (or "mammal-like reptiles"), diverged from the reptile lineage around 300 million years ago. They were the dominant land animals during the Permian period (299 to 252 mya), occupying various ecological niches, from apex predators to herbivores.