Cretaceous

The Cretaceous period was the last period of the Mesozoic era. It began 146 mya, and ended 65 mya, when an asteroid collided with the Earth at place called Chicxulub in the Gulf of Mexico. This, combined with massive flood basalt eruptions, is now believed to be what killed the dinosaurs. Flood basalt eruptions are when huge quantities of lava are erupted onto the Earth’s surface. These are times of intense volcanic activity, where the eruption period can continue for hundreds of thousands of years, with many separate eruptions, with intervals of a few hundred years between individual them. On a biological note, the first flowers evolved in the cretaceous. These were magnolias, and a complex symbiosis between flowers and insects quickly evolved.

Click here to see our Cretaceous fossils.

←Mesozoic era

Cainozoic era→

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