Eocene
Sign in to saveThe Eocene ( ) is a geological epoch that lasted from about 56 to 33.9 million years ago (Ma). It is the second epoch of the Paleogene Period in the modern Cenozoic Era.
AI overview
The Eocene is a period in Earth's history that lasted from about 56 to 33.9 million years ago, making it the second major time division of the Paleogene Period. This epoch is significant because it represents a key chapter in the Cenozoic Era, the long stretch of geological time that followed the extinction of the dinosaurs.
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Key facts
- Geologic timespan.name
- Eocene
- Geologic timespan.color
- Eocene
- Geologic timespan.time_start
- 56.00
- Geologic timespan.time_end
- 33.9
- Geologic timespan.image_map
- Mollweide Paleographic Map of Earth, 45 Ma (Lutetian Age).png
- Geologic timespan.caption_map
- A map of Earth 45 million years ago during the Eocene Epoch, Lutetian Age
- Geologic timespan.timeline
- Paleogene
- Geologic timespan.name_formality
- Formal
- Geologic timespan.celestial_body
- earth
- Geologic timespan.usage
- Global (ICS)
- Geologic timespan.timescales_used
- ICS Time Scale
- Geologic timespan.chrono_unit
Article
30 sectionsContents
- Etymology
- Geology
- Boundaries
- Stratigraphy
- Palaeogeography and tectonics
- Climate
- Early Eocene
- Equable climate problem
- Large lakes
- Ocean heat transport
- Orbital parameters
- Polar stratospheric clouds
- Middle Eocene
- Late Eocene
- Flora
- Fauna
- Vertebrates
- Mammals
- Birds
- Fishes
- Reptiles
- Molluscs
- Arthropods
- Other phyla
- Microbes
- See also
- Notes
- References
- Further reading
- External links
The Eocene ( ) is a geological epoch that lasted from about 56 to 33.9 million years ago (Ma). It is the second epoch of the Paleogene Period in the modern Cenozoic Era.
The Eocene spans the time from the end of the Paleocene Epoch to the beginning of the Oligocene Epoch. The start of the Eocene is marked by a brief period in which the concentration of the carbon isotope 13C in the atmosphere was exceptionally low in comparison with the more common isotope 12C. The average temperature of Earth at the beginning of the Eocene was about 27 degrees Celsius. The end is set at a major extinction event called the Grande Coupure (the "Great Break" in continuity) or the Eocene–Oligocene extinction event, which may be related to the impact of one or more large bolides in Siberia and in what is now Chesapeake Bay. As with other geologic periods, the strata that define the start and end of the epoch are well identified, though their exact dates are slightly uncertain.