third and final period of the Mesozoic Era

The Cretaceous (IPA: /krɪˈteɪʃəs/ krih-TAY-shəss) is a geologic period that lasted from about 143.1 to 66 Ma (million years ago). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era, as … Wikipedia
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Factsheet
Etymology
Name formality Formal
Usage information
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Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org › wiki › Cretaceous
Cretaceous - Wikipedia
1 week ago - The Cretaceous was a period with a relatively warm climate, resulting in high eustatic sea levels that created numerous shallow inland seas. These oceans and seas were populated with now-extinct marine reptiles, ammonites, and rudists, while dinosaurs continued to dominate on land.
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Natural History Museum
nhm.ac.uk › discover › dino-directory › timeline › late-cretaceous › gallery.html
Dinosaurs from the Late Cretaceous Period | Natural History Museum
(101 to 66 million years ago) 150 dinosaurs from the Late Cretaceous · Abelisaurus · Achelousaurus · Achillobator · Aegyptosaurus · Alamosaurus · Albertaceratops · Albertosaurus · Alectrosaurus · Alioramus · Alvarezsaurus · Ampelosaurus · Anchiceratops ·
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Live Science
livescience.com › animals › extinct species › dinosaurs
Cretaceous period: Animals, plants and extinction event | Live Science
July 26, 2022 - The event killed off all nonavian dinosaurs, all pterosaurs (which were not dinosaurs) and many marine reptiles, including mosasaurs and plesiosaurs, as well as many early mammals and "a host of amphibians, birds, reptiles and insects," according to the · American Museum of Natural History in New York. An estimated three-quarters of species alive at the time met their end. ... Geologists call this mass die-off the K-Pg extinction event because it marks the boundary between the Cretaceous and Paleogene periods; the "K" is from "Kreide," the German word for Cretaceous.
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Encyclopedia Britannica
britannica.com › science › earth science, geologic time & fossils › fossils & geologic time
Cretaceous Period | Definition, Climate, Dinosaurs, & Map | Britannica
July 26, 1999 - Dinosaurs were the dominant group of land animals, especially “duck-billed” dinosaurs (hadrosaurs), such as Shantungosaurus, and horned forms, such as Triceratops. Giant marine reptiles such as ichthyosaurs, mosasaurs, and plesiosaurs were ...
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University of California Museum of Paleontology
ucmp.berkeley.edu › mesozoic › cretaceous › cretaceous.php
The Cretaceous Period
What on Earth — or not — caused this extinction and how can we know? What killed the dinosaurs? ... The Cretaceous is defined as the period between 145.5 and 65.5 million years ago,* the last period of the Mesozoic Era, following the Jurassic and ending with the extinction of the dinosaurs ...
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Active Wild
activewild.com › home › cretaceous period dinosaurs list with pictures & facts: discover the dinosaurs that lived in the cretaceous period
Cretaceous Period Dinosaurs. List Of Dinosaurs Of The Cretaceous Period
May 17, 2024 - Cretaceous period dinosaurs list with pictures, information & facts. Discover the dinosaurs that lived in the Cretaceous Period. T Rex, Spinosaurus & more.
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Natural History Museum
nhm.ac.uk › discover › the-cretaceous-period.html
The Cretaceous Period: What was Earth like before dinosaurs went extinct? | Natural History Museum
But it also means scientists have less of an understanding of the plants and land animals that lived in Britain at the end of the Cretaceous Period. We have a much better idea of what lived on land here in the Early Cretaceous, particularly thanks to rocks near Bournemouth in southern England known as the Wealden Group. This area is well known for the discovery of Iguanodon. In fact, the UK is particularly well known for iguanodontians, with 12 genera having been found here from the Early Cretaceous. Mantellisaurus is an iguanodontian dinosaur that lived 130-120 million years ago.
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U.S. National Park Service
nps.gov › subjects › fossils › cretaceous-dinosaurs.htm
Cretaceous Dinosaurs - Fossils and Paleontology (U.S. National Park Service)
Part 3: Cretaceous Period This video is the last in a series about the dinosaur story. Learn about the Cretaceous Period. By the end of this period, 66 million years ago, dinosaurs will be extinct. _ The Telling the Dinosaur Story series explores the fascinating time of dinosaurs as told through ...
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Natural History Museum
nhm.ac.uk › discover › dino-directory › timeline › early-cretaceous › gallery.html
Dinosaurs from the Early Cretaceous Period | Natural History Museum
(145 to 101 million years ago) 68 dinosaurs from the Early Cretaceous · Acrocanthosaurus · Afrovenator · Amargasaurus · Aquilops · Aragosaurus · Archaeoceratops · Atlascopcosaurus · Austrosaurus · Baryonyx · Becklespinax · Beipiaosaurus · Caudipteryx ·
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National Geographic
nationalgeographic.com › home › science › cretaceous period
Cretaceous Period Facts and Information | National Geographic | National Geographic
May 3, 2021 - Continents were on the move in the Cretaceous, busy remodeling the shape and tone of life on Earth. At the start of the period, dinosaurs ruled the loosening remnants of the supercontinent Pangaea as rodents scurried at their feet through forests of ferns, cycads, and conifers.
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American Museum of Natural History
amnh.org › explore › ology › ology-cards › 030-cretaceous-period
Cretaceous Period | AMNH
Many of the most famous dinosaurs, such as Tyrannosaurus and Triceratops, first appeared in the Cretaceous (kruh-TAY-shus) Period, which lasted from 144 to 65 million years ago.
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Natural History Museum
natmus.humboldt.edu › exhibits › life-through-time › visual-timeline › cretaceous-period
Cretaceous Period | Natural History Museum
The Cretaceous Period ends with one of the greatest known extinction events, so severe it also marks the end of the Mesozoic Era. Dinosaurs, pterosaurs, mosasaurs, and ammonoids, to name a few, were among the groups lost at this time.
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Study.com
study.com › science courses › dinosaur study guide
Cretaceous Period Dinosaurs | Timeline & Significance | Study.com
During the Cretaceous Period, the climate was warm and humid because of active volcanos. There were no ice sheets even in the polar regions, which were instead covered by forests. Dinosaurs were the dominant land animals, giant marine animals were common, and flying reptiles ruled the sky.
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ThoughtCo
thoughtco.com › the-three-ages-of-dinosaurs-1091932
Dinosaurs of the Triassic, Jurassic, and Cretaceous Periods
July 21, 2024 - The Triassic, Jurassic, and Cretaceous periods were marked out by geologists to distinguish among various types of geologic strata (chalk, limestone, etc.) laid down tens of millions of years ago. Since dinosaur fossils are usually found embedded in rock, paleontologists associate dinosaurs with the geologic period in which they lived, for example, "the sauropods of the late Jurassic."
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EBSCO
ebsco.com › research-starters › geology › cretaceous-period
Cretaceous Period | Research Starters | EBSCO Research
The Cretaceous saw some of the most widely recognized dinosaurs (e.g., Tyrannosaurus rex, Triceratops, Velociraptor) come and go, while the continental landmasses of the world assumed shapes and positions resembling those of modern times.
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Ingeoexpert
ingeoexpert.com › en › 2019 › 10 › 09 › dinosaurs-from-cretaceous-period
Dinosaurs from the Cretaceous period - Ingeoexpert EN
February 10, 2021 - Mosasaurs and Elasmosaurids are the most common examples of the era, Both having surprisingly long necks. Mosasaurs were reptiles with fins, so they adapted to sea life. However, they are considered family of today’s serpents.
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U.S. National Park Service
nps.gov › articles › 000 › cretaceous-period.htm
Cretaceous Period—145.0 to 66.0 MYA (U.S. National Park Service)
All told, 16% of marine families and 18% of land vertebrate families, including dinosaurs, became extinct. Climate change and the resulting glaciations and changes in sea level were the causes of other mass extinctions, for example at the end of the Ordovician and Devonian periods. The cause of the Cretaceous-Tertiary mass extinction may at first seem a bit obscure, but as scientists have accumulated more and more evidence, opposition to the idea has dwindled.
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Western News
news.westernu.ca › 2025 › 03 › south-africa-cretaceous-dinosaurs
First evidence of Cretaceous Period dinosaurs in South Africa
March 27, 2025 - “To the best of our knowledge, all the southern African dinosaur tracks known until now are from the Triassic and Early Jurassic periods, and pre-date the volcanic eruptions. The newly-recognized Early Cretaceous tracks are not only the first from the Western Cape Province.
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Scienceviews
scienceviews.com › dinosaurs › cretaceous.html
Cretaceous Period
The Cretaceous period began at the end of the Jurassic period approximately 144 million years ago and extended longer than any period (79 ma) to approximately 65 million years ago. The word Cretaceous comes from the word for "chalk" and the geological remains do indeed contain heightened chalk ...
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Dinosaur.org
dinosaur.org › dino-facts › geological-time-periods › dinosaurs-from-the-cretaceous-period
Exploring Cretaceous Dinosaurs - A Journey Through History Dinosaur.org
The Cretaceous period witnessed the flourishing and eventual extinction of numerous dinosaur species, influenced by environmental shifts and competition for limited resources. This era, a pivotal time in Earth’s history, saw dinosaurs navigate a world of changing climates and evolving landscapes.