answersLogoWhite

0

About 65.5 million years ago. The Cretaceous and Tertiary are geological time periods either side of this event. The event is significant because there was a large mass extinction event at this time including the extinction of all non avian dinosaurs. Most experts agree that the cause of the extinction was a asteroid impact.

User Avatar

Wiki User

15y ago

What else can I help you with?

Continue Learning about Natural Sciences

Did the K-T extinction occur before or during the Tertiary period?

The Tertiary Period (65.5 to 2.588Ma) is the informal name for the geological period that followed the K-T extinction event. So the K-T event happened before the Tertiary. In fact "K-T" is actually short for Cretaceous-Tertiary as it marked the end of the Cretaceous and the start of the Tertiary.The lower tertiary is more formally known as the Paleogene Period(65.5 - 23.03 Ma) and the upper Tertiary is more formally known as the Neogene Period(23.03 - 2.588Ma).


What is the k-t mass extinction and when did it occur?

It occurred between the Cretaceous period at the end of the Mesozoic era and the Tertiary period at the beginning of the Cenozoic era. It's mostly known for wiping out the dinosaurs. Any species that weighed over 100 kg vanished (60-80% of all species).


When was the last mass extinction?

The Cretaceous–Tertiary extinction event 65 million years ago was the last mass-extinction, and many believe that humans are causing a mass-extinction right now.


What period did the dinosaurs become extinct?

Around the end of the Cretaceous Period.Dinosaurs became extinct at the end of the Mesozoic Era 65 million years ago. Their extinction also marked the beginning of the Cenozoic Era.Dinosaurs disappeared near the end of the cretaceous period.Most people believe it was at the end of the Cretaceous however the truth is that it ended in the Tertiary PERIOD not era so be careful that was why the event was called the K-T event because c had been taken in a mass extinction in the oceans.All non avian dinosaurs lived in the Mesozoic Era (251 - 65Ma). The mass extinction 65 million years ago of all non avian dinosaurs along with many other types of animals and plants marks the boundary between the Mesozoic and the Cenozoic Eras.


What is meaning Tertiary Boundary?

A boundary is a borderline, a separation between two things or the edge of something. Tertiary means third. In this case the 'Tertiary Boundary' has a geological meaning. It is an horizon in the Earth's rock sequence that marks the end of the 'Tertiary Period' at the end of the 'Cretaceous' and the begiining of the 'Quaternary Period' - a point in time in Earth's history some 65.5 million years ago. It is also the time when the Dinosaurs became extinct.

Related Questions

How do you use cretaceous- tertiary extinction in a sentence?

A meteorite impacted Earth and caused the cretaceous-tertiary extinction.


What did the Cretaceous - Tertiary extinction event end?

The Tertiary Era.


How do you use tertiary in a a sentence?

A meteorite impacted Earth and caused the cretaceous-tertiary extinction.


Was the k-t extinction in the Tertiary period?

The k-t extinction was ~65million years ago and marks the transition from the Cretaceous to the Tertiary period.


Did the K-T extinction occur before or during the Tertiary period?

The Tertiary Period (65.5 to 2.588Ma) is the informal name for the geological period that followed the K-T extinction event. So the K-T event happened before the Tertiary. In fact "K-T" is actually short for Cretaceous-Tertiary as it marked the end of the Cretaceous and the start of the Tertiary.The lower tertiary is more formally known as the Paleogene Period(65.5 - 23.03 Ma) and the upper Tertiary is more formally known as the Neogene Period(23.03 - 2.588Ma).


Did Cretaceous-Tertiary extinction have falling sea levels?

No, the global sea level was high.


What was the cretaceous-tertiary event?

A meteorite impacted Earth, causing devastation of the planet and mass extinction.


What is the K-T extinction?

The k-t extinction marks the transition from the cretaceous to the tertiary period in which it is hypothesized that a meteorite struck the Earth and caused a mass extinction.


How does the Cretaceous-Tertiary extinction relate to the age of Mammals?

The extinction of so many organisms left a large ecological niche to expand into, which mammals did.


What is the dying out of many types of animals at once called?

A mass extinction or extinction event. For instance the death of the dinosaurs is the Cretaceous-Tertiary event (or K-T event for short).


What is the significance of the boundary between the cretaceous tertiary time periods?

The boundary marks the impact of a massive meteorite that caused mass extinction on Earth.


What are the extinction of animals in the very distant past?

There were five major extinction events in the past. They are called the Cretaceous-Tertiary (or K-T) extinction event, the late Devonian mass extinction, the Permian mass extinction, the Ordovician-Silurian mass extinction and the Triassic-Jurassic mass extinction event.