Late Cretaceous

The Late Cretaceous is the last part of the Cretaceous time period. It came after the Early Cretaceous time period. It began 100 to 65 million years ago.

About this period

During the Late Cretaceous many oceans and big seas began to dry up. More advanced plants such as Pine trees began to grow. Massive lizard like mososaurs began to be the top predators of the seas and oceans eating plesiosaurs and even sharks. Tyrannosauroids such as Tyrannosaurus took over the place of allosauroids although there was one more in Brazil. Plant eaters such as Triceratops and Machairoceratops had horns that can protect them from attack. But some such as Edmontosaurus did not have amour but they were huge. While this pterosaurs such as Pteranodon began to grow huge sizes. Dinosaurs also began to leave Europe although a few still lived there. Then 65 million years ago a space rock possibly a asteroid or a comet smashed Earth killing many animals and plants in the planet. A few mammals survived and only one group of reptiles survived, and it was birds. Then the age of mammals began.

Tyrannosaurus attacking a Triceratops.

Mammals started taking over the age of dinosaurs.

Restoration of a Velociraptor

Size comparasion of Pteranodon

Restoration of Triceratops

Extinctions

1. Sauropodmorphs such as Alamosaurus get extinct.
2. Theropods such as Tyrannosaurus get Extinct, although Birds survived.
3. Ceratopsians such as Triceratops get extinct during this period.
4. Ankylosaurs such as Ankylosaurus get extinct as well during this period.
5. Some clades of sea reptiles such as plesiosaurs and mosasaurs get extinct.

First appearances

1. The first Primates dominate planet earth in the later part.
2. Duck relatives evolve during the later part of the period.