Cenozoic Era

"The Age of Mammals"

65 mya through today

Tertiary Period
65 to 1.8 mya

Pliocene
5-1.8 mya

First hominids (australopithecines). Modern forms of whales. Megalodon swam the seas

Miocene
24-5 mya

More mammals, including the horses, dogs and bears. Modern birds. South American monkeys, apes in southern Europe, Ramapithecus.

Oligocene
38-24 mya

Starts with a minor extinction (36 mya). Many new mammals (pigs, deer, cats, rhinos, tapirs appear). Grasses common.

Eocene
54-38 mya

Mammals abound. Rodents appear. Primitive whales appear.

Paleocene
65-54 mya

First large mammals and primitive primates, plesiadapiforms.