First period of the Cenozoic Era (66–23 million years ago)
Not to be confused with Paleocene.
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Paleogene
66.0 – 23.03 Ma
PreꞒ
Ꞓ
O
S
D
C
P
T
J
K
Pg
N
A map of Earth as it appeared during the Eocene epoch, c. 40 Ma.
Chronology
−65 —
–
−60 —
–
−55 —
–
−50 —
–
−45 —
–
−40 —
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−35 —
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−30 —
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−25 —
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M Z
C e n o z o i c
Cretaceous
P a l e o g e n e
Neogene
P a l e o c e n e
E o c e n e
O l i g o c e n e
Danian
Selandian
Thanetian
Ypresian
Lutetian
Bartonian
Priabonian
Rupelian
Chattian
←
PETM
←
First Antarctic permanent ice-sheets[1]
←
K-Pg mass extinction
Subdivision of the Paleogene according to the ICS, as of 2021.[2] Vertical axis scale: millions of years ago
Etymology
Name formality
Formal
Alternate spelling(s)
Palaeogene, Palæogene
Usage information
Celestial body
Earth
Regional usage
Global (ICS)
Time scale(s) used
ICS Time Scale
Definition
Chronological unit
Period
Stratigraphic unit
System
Time span formality
Formal
Lower boundary definition
Iridium enriched layer associated with a major meteorite impact and subsequent K-Pg extinction event.
Lower boundary GSSP
El Kef Section, El Kef, Tunisia 36°09′13″N8°38′55″E / 36.1537°N 8.6486°E / 36.1537; 8.6486
Lower GSSP ratified
1991[3]
Upper boundary definition
Base of magnetic polarity chronozone C6Cn.2n.
Near first appearance of the Planktonic foraminiferan Paragloborotalia kugleri.
The Paleogene Period (IPA: /ˈpeɪli.ədʒiːn,-li.oʊ-,ˈpæli-/PAY-lee-ə-jeen, -lee-oh-, PAL-ee-; also spelled Palaeogene or Palæogene) is a geologic period and system that spans 43 million years from the end of the Cretaceous Period 66 million years ago (Mya) to the beginning of the Neogene Period 23.03 Mya. It is the first part of the Cenozoic Era of the present Phanerozoic Eon. The earlier term Tertiary Period was used to define the time now covered by the Paleogene Period and subsequent Neogene Period; despite no longer being recognized as a formal stratigraphic term, "Tertiary" still sometimes remains in informal use.[5] Paleogene is often abbreviated "Pg", although the United States Geological Survey uses the abbreviation "Pe" for the Paleogene on the Survey's geologic maps.[6][7]
During the Paleogene period, mammals continued to diversify from relatively small, simple forms into a large group of diverse animals in the wake of the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event that ended the preceding Cretaceous Period.[8]
This period consists of the Paleocene, Eocene, and Oligocene epochs. The end of the Paleocene (56 Mya) was marked by the Paleocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum, one of the most significant periods of global change during the Cenozoic, which changed oceanic and atmospheric circulation and resulted in the extinction of numerous deep-sea benthic foraminifera and on land, a major extinction of mammals. The term "Paleogene System" applies to the rocks deposited during the Paleogene Period.
^Zachos, J. C.; Kump, L. R. (2005). "Carbon cycle feedbacks and the initiation of Antarctic glaciation in the earliest Oligocene". Global and Planetary Change. 47 (1): 51–66. Bibcode:2005GPC....47...51Z. doi:10.1016/j.gloplacha.2005.01.001.
^"International Chronostratigraphic Chart" (PDF). International Commission on Stratigraphy.
^Molina, Eustoquio; Alegret, Laia; Arenillas, Ignacio; José A. Arz; Gallala, Njoud; Hardenbol, Jan; Katharina von Salis; Steurbaut, Etienne; Vandenberghe, Noel; Dalila Zaghibib-Turki (2006). "The Global Boundary Stratotype Section and Point for the base of the Danian Stage (Paleocene, Paleogene, "Tertiary", Cenozoic) at El Kef, Tunisia - Original definition and revision". Episodes. 29 (4): 263–278. doi:10.18814/epiiugs/2006/v29i4/004.
^Steininger, Fritz F.; M. P. Aubry; W. A. Berggren; M. Biolzi; A. M. Borsetti; Julie E. Cartlidge; F. Cati; R. Corfield; R. Gelati; S. Iaccarino; C. Napoleone; F. Ottner; F. Rögl; R. Roetzel; S. Spezzaferri; F. Tateo; G. Villa; D. Zevenboom (1997). "The Global Stratotype Section and Point (GSSP) for the base of the Neogene" (PDF). Episodes. 20 (1): 23–28. doi:10.18814/epiiugs/1997/v20i1/005.
^"GeoWhen Database – What Happened to the Tertiary?". www.stratigraphy.org.
^Federal Geographic Data Committee. "FGDC Digital Cartographic Standard for Geologic Map Symbolization" (PDF). The National Geologic Map Database. United States Geological Survey. Retrieved 29 January 2022.
^Orndorff, R.C. (20 July 2010). "Divisions of Geologic Time—Major Chronostratigraphic and Geochronologic Units" (PDF). United States Geological Survey. Retrieved 29 January 2022.
^Meredith, R. W.; Janecka, J. E.; Gatesy, J.; Ryder, O. A.; Fisher, C. A.; Teeling, E. C.; Goodbla, A.; Eizirik, E.; Simao, T. L. L.; Stadler, T.; Rabosky, D. L.; Honeycutt, R. L.; Flynn, J. J.; Ingram, C. M.; Steiner, C.; Williams, T. L.; Robinson, T. J.; Burk-Herrick, A.; Westerman, M.; Ayoub, N. A.; Springer, M. S.; Murphy, W. J. (28 October 2011). "Impacts of the Cretaceous Terrestrial Revolution and KPg Extinction on Mammal Diversification". Science. 334 (6055): 521–524. Bibcode:2011Sci...334..521M. doi:10.1126/science.1211028. PMID 21940861. S2CID 38120449.
The Paleogene Period (IPA: /ˈpeɪli.ədʒiːn, -li.oʊ-, ˈpæli-/ PAY-lee-ə-jeen, -lee-oh-, PAL-ee-; also spelled Palaeogene or Palæogene) is a geologic period...
surrounding areas. The date of the impact coincides with the Cretaceous–Paleogene boundary (commonly known as the K–Pg or K–T boundary). It is now widely...
Cretaceous—Paleogene (or K-Pg) extinction event by many researchers. Non-avian dinosaur fossils are found only below the Cretaceous–Paleogene boundary and...
groups. The Cretaceous (along with the Mesozoic) ended with the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event, a large mass extinction in which many groups, including...
period and system that spans 20.45 million years from the end of the Paleogene Period 23.03 million years ago (Mya) to the beginning of the present Quaternary...
the Mesozoic and Paleozoic. The Cenozoic started with the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event, when many species, including the non-avian dinosaurs...
dinosaurs, being one of the largest reptiles to evolve after the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event. Its vertebrae are very robust and wide, with a pentagonal...
about 56 to 33.9 million years ago (Ma). It is the second epoch of the Paleogene Period in the modern Cenozoic Era. The name Eocene comes from the Ancient...
the oldest age or lowest stage of the Paleocene Epoch or Series, of the Paleogene Period or System, and of the Cenozoic Era or Erathem. The beginning of...
outcompeted during the Paleogene by newly-arriving lineages. However, plants and invertebrate fauna were less affected. During the Paleogene, dispersing tetrapod...
Campanian and succeeded by the Danian (part of the Paleogene and Paleocene). The Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event (formerly known as the Cretaceous–Tertiary...
"Big Five" extinction events in Earth's history, only the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event had occurred while angiosperms dominated plant life on...
period began with the demise of the non-avian dinosaurs in the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event, at the start of the Cenozoic Era, and extended to the...
The Mammal Paleogene zones or MP zones are a system of biostratigraphic zones in the stratigraphic record used to correlate mammal-bearing fossil localities...
unusually high abundance of iridium in the clay layer at the Cretaceous–Paleogene boundary gave rise to the Alvarez hypothesis that the impact of a massive...
niches. There are three divisions of the Cenozoic: Paleogene, Neogene and Quaternary. The Paleogene spans from the extinction of the non-avian dinosaurs...
Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event. The species Protungulatum donnae is sometimes placed as a stem-ungulate known 1 meter above the Cretaceous-Paleogene boundary...
subcontinent in the early Cretaceous (about 125 Ma). During the early Paleogene, Antarctica remained connected to South America as well as to southeastern...
largest mass extinction in Earth's history, and ended with the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event, another mass extinction whose victims included the non-avian...
the Cenozoic, with particular focus having been paid to the Neogene and Paleogene systems (i.e. rock layers which are 65.5 to 2.588 million years old),...
with the last species vanishing during or soon after the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event. They are often called ammonites, which is most frequently...
biological inclusions (fungi, plants, arachnids and insects) in amber from the Paleogene Chickaloon Formation of Alaska, representing the northernmost deposit...
Texas along the Gulf coast. East Texas outcrops consist of Cretaceous and Paleogene sediments which contain important deposits of Eocene lignite. The Mississippian...
Global Information
