Knowra Early Cretaceous Early Cretaceous The first epoch of the Cretaceous Period, lasting from about 145 to 100.5 million years ago. It preceded the Late Cretaceous and followed the Late Jurassic.
Yixian Formation : A fossil-rich geological formation in northeastern China, famous for exceptionally preserved Early Cretaceous organisms. Its fossils document feathered dinosaurs, early birds, mammals, and flowering plants.
Breakup of Pangaea : The progressive fragmentation of the supercontinent Pangaea into separate continental landmasses. Rifting continued to rearrange continents and open new ocean basins.
Cretaceous : The final period of the Mesozoic Era, lasting from about 145 to 66 million years ago. The Early Cretaceous is its first epoch.
Angiosperm : A flowering plant whose seeds develop within an enclosing ovary, typically forming fruit. Flowering plants diversified during the epoch and later transformed land ecosystems.
Jehol Biota : A diverse assemblage of Early Cretaceous fossils from northeastern China, especially the Yixian and Jiufotang formations. It preserves unusually detailed snapshots of the epoch’s terrestrial ecosystems.
Cretaceous seaway : A broad marine corridor that divided North America during parts of the Cretaceous Period. Its later development illustrates how rising seas could divide continental habitats.
Late Jurassic : The final epoch of the Jurassic Period, preceding the Cretaceous Period. It immediately preceded the Early Cretaceous.
Bird : A feathered, beaked vertebrate belonging to the theropod dinosaur lineage. Early Cretaceous fossils document the diversification of early birds.
Burgess Shale : A Middle Cambrian fossil deposit in British Columbia, renowned for preserving soft-bodied marine animals. Its much older age contrasts with the Early Cretaceous fossil record.
Cretaceous thermal maximum : A prolonged interval of unusually warm global climate during the Cretaceous Period. It followed the epoch, providing a contrast with Early Cretaceous climate transitions.
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