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what does cenozoic mean
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Cenozoic (pronounced SEE-noh-ZOH-ik) is the current geological era, meaning "new life" from the Greek kainos (new) + zoe (life). It began about 66 million years ago, right after the mass extinction that ended the Mesozoic (the K–Pg event), and continues to the present.
Key points:
- Time span: ~66 million years ago to today.
- Subdivisions: Paleogene (66–23 Ma), Neogene (23–2.58 Ma), and Quaternary (2.58 Ma–present).
- Major features: rapid diversification and dominance of mammals and birds, spread of grasses and modern plant communities, progressive global cooling leading to ice ages in the Quaternary, and the evolution and spread of humans.
- Importance: most modern ecosystems and the lineages of living mammals, birds, and many plants developed during the Cenozoic.
Key points:
- Time span: ~66 million years ago to today.
- Subdivisions: Paleogene (66–23 Ma), Neogene (23–2.58 Ma), and Quaternary (2.58 Ma–present).
- Major features: rapid diversification and dominance of mammals and birds, spread of grasses and modern plant communities, progressive global cooling leading to ice ages in the Quaternary, and the evolution and spread of humans.
- Importance: most modern ecosystems and the lineages of living mammals, birds, and many plants developed during the Cenozoic.
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