Cretaceous
Last dinosaur era
The Cretaceous is the final period of the Mesozoic Era, spanning roughly 145 to 66 million years ago.
It ended with the mass extinction that wiped out the non-avian dinosaurs.
The name comes from the abundant chalk deposits laid down during this time, visible today in formations like the White Cliffs of Dover.
Tyrannosaurus rex lived during the late Cretaceous. (Lowercase cretaceous means chalky.)
Dinosaur-dominated geological period
- TriassicFirst Mesozoic period
- MesozoicAge of Reptiles
- PaleogeneEarly Cenozoic era division
- CenozoicPresent geological era
Permian · Carboniferous · Devonian · Paleocene · Cambrian · Ordovician · Silurian · Paleozoic
Extinct marine reptile
- plesiosaurExtinct marine reptile
- ammonitesExtinct coiled-shell cephalopods
- seawayMaritime shipping route
- marine reptilesOcean-dwelling scaled vertebrates
Soft sedimentary writing stone
- limestoneCarbonate sedimentary rock
- flowering plantsSeed-bearing plants with blooms
- angiospermsPlants producing covered seeds
- continental driftGradual landmass repositioning
Fast predatory dinosaur genus
- SpinosaurusSail-spined Cretaceous theropod
- IguanodonOrnithopod genus with distinctive thumb spikes
- theropodsCarnivorous bipedal dinosaurs
- sauropodsMassive long-necked dinosaur group
titanosaurs · hadrosaurs · nesting · eggs · herds · fossils
Hardened ancient tree secretion
- petrifiedSolidified or fear-paralyzed
- coprolitePetrified prehistoric excrement
- ArchaeopteryxPrehistoric transitional flying creature
- paleobotanyStudy of ancient flora
fossilized · specimens · impressions · preserved · excavation · formation · strata
Jurassic
Dinosaur-dominated geological period
Cenozoic · Permian · Carboniferous · Devonian · Paleocene · Cambrian · Ordovician · Silurian · Paleozoic · Holocene
mosasaur
Extinct marine reptile
- plesiosaurExtinct marine reptile
- ammonitesExtinct coiled-shell cephalopods
- seawayMaritime shipping route
chalk
Soft sedimentary writing stone
- limestoneCarbonate sedimentary rock
- flowering plantsSeed-bearing plants with blooms
- angiospermsPlants producing covered seeds
continental drift · plankton · cliffs · Dover
Velociraptor
Fast predatory dinosaur genus
- SpinosaurusSail-spined Cretaceous theropod
- IguanodonOrnithopod genus with distinctive thumb spikes
- theropodsCarnivorous bipedal dinosaurs
sauropods · titanosaurs · hadrosaurs · nesting · eggs · herds · fossils
amber
Hardened ancient tree secretion
- petrifiedSolidified or fear-paralyzed
- coprolitePetrified prehistoric excrement
- ArchaeopteryxPrehistoric transitional flying creature
paleobotany · fossilized · specimens · impressions · preserved · excavation · formation · strata
- Mesozoicdinosaurs, Velociraptor, Brachiosaurus, Spinosaurus, pterosaurs
- dinosaursdinosaurs, Velociraptor, Brachiosaurus, raptors, Spinosaurus
- natural history museumfossils, dinosaurs, specimens, taxidermy, gemstones
- time periodsday, year, month, week, hour
- Earth historyice age, geological time, extinction, eons, fossil
- geologic historyCambrian, Ordovician, Silurian, Devonian, Carboniferous
CretaceousPrecambrian
Earliest geological eon
Cenozoic · Quaternary · Archean · Proterozoic · Paleogene
Cretaceousmodern
Of recent times
contemporary · Holocene · recent · Anthropocene · now
- Late CretaceousLast dinosaur epoch
- Early CretaceousMesozoic epoch, 145-100 million ago
- Cretaceous periodFinal Mesozoic geological era