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It marked the end of the Cretaceous period, and with it the Mesozoic era, while heralding the beginning of the current era, the Cenozoic. In the geologic record, the K–Pg event is marked by a thin layer of sediment called the K–Pg boundary or K–T boundary, which can be found throughout the world in marine and terrestrial rocks.
The Cretaceous (IPA: / k r ɪ ˈ t eɪ ʃ ə s / krih-TAY-shəss) [2] is a geological period that lasted from about 145 to 66 million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era, as well as the longest.
The K–Pg boundary marks the end of the Cretaceous Period, the last period of the Mesozoic Era, and marks the beginning of the Paleogene Period, the first period of the Cenozoic Era. Its age is usually estimated at 66 million years, [2] with radiometric dating yielding a more precise age of 66.043 ± 0.043 Ma. [3]
Artist's depiction of the end-Cretaceous impact eventSince the 19th century, a significant amount of research has been conducted on the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event, the mass extinction that ended the dinosaur-dominated Mesozoic Era and set the stage for the Age of Mammals, or Cenozoic Era.
The Cretaceous is the longest period of the Mesozoic, but has only two epochs: Early and Late Cretaceous. [21] Tylosaurus (a mosasaur) hunting Xiphactinus. The Early Cretaceous spans from 145 to 100 million years ago. [21]
It marked the end of the Cretaceous period and the Mesozoic Era, opening the Cenozoic Era that continues today. However, because it is rare in any case for animals and plants to be fossilized, the fossil record leaves some major questions unanswered.
The Maastrichtian (/ m ɑː ˈ s t r ɪ k t i ə n / mahss-TRIK-tee-ən) is, in the International Commission on Stratigraphy (ICS) geologic timescale, the latest age (uppermost stage) of the Late Cretaceous Epoch or Upper Cretaceous Series, the Cretaceous Period or System, and of the Mesozoic Era or Erathem. It spanned the interval from .
The first breakthrough was published in 1980 by a team led by Luis Alvarez, who discovered trace metal evidence for an asteroid impact at the end of the Cretaceous period. The Alvarez hypothesis for the end-Cretaceous extinction gave mass extinctions, and catastrophic explanations, newfound popular and scientific attention. [46]