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name Eocene means the "dawn of recent life" Originally the
Eocene was the first epoch of the Cenozoic, but then the Paleocene
was erected as an earlier epoch. Life during the Eocene was pretty
similar to that of the Paleocene, a warm tropic world, high sea-levels
and island continents, invertebrates and plants similar to those today,
while mammals continue to evolve and diversify along many lines
Plate Tectonics Climate Plant Life Animal Life Mesonyx, an early carnivore of the order Creodonta .
The Eocene saw the appearance of a number of direct evolutionary ancestors of modern animals. The ancient hoofed condylarths gave way to more modern ungulates, and became extinct before the end of the epoch. The modern hoofed mammals - perrisodactyls and artiodactyls - of Europe, Asia and North America, included proto- horses, tapirs, rhinoceroses, and camels, as well as extinct groups like the pig-like anthracotheres, horse-like chalicotheres, and rhinoceros-like Titanotheres. They were all small to begin with, about the size of a modern domestic cat, but some groups, especially the Titanotheres, quickly grew to huge size, before suddenly dying out in a mass-extinction of archaic forms at the end of the Eocene (it used to be believed that Titanotheres lived on to the Early Oligocene but modern dating shows this to be incorrect). The rodents replaced the multituberculates in the small gnawing herbivore guild. Bats not unlike modern types appeared, evolving from primitive Insectivora. Primates including forest-dwelling ancestors of today's lemurs and tarsiers flourished in the trees. The first aquatic mammals, whales and sea cows appeared in the oceans. The whales belonged to an extinct lineage called Archeocetes, and quickly grew to huge size (Zeuglodon (more correctly Basilosaurus, a confusing name because this was a mammal not a reptile) attained 20 to 25 meters in length. The Eocene saw the appearance of modern birds such as eagles, pelicans, quail, and vultures, as well as the great flightless Diatriyaformes, 2 meters or more in height, with a huge hooked beak that clearly indicated carnivorous habits. Such giant flightless birds, curiously reminiscent of their ancestors, the great theropod dinosaurs of the bygone Mesozoic, may have been able to develop because carnivorous mammals remained primitive and not very efficient. Africa was separated by ocean on all sides, which allowed the development of a unique fauna in isolation from Europe, Asia and North America. There evolved not only the ancestors of elephants but also the hyrax, the monkey, and strange extinct forms such as the rhinoceros-like Embrithotheres. South America was another isolated island continent. It became home to a unique zoo of hoofed mammals, edentates, marsupials, and more giant flightless birds (Phorusrachids). Australia's fauna at this time is unknown, but would presumably consist of various indigenous marsupials, monotremes, crocodilians and lizards. The information of this page came from http://palaeos.com/ For more on the Cenozoic periods go to http://palaeos.com/Cenozoic/Cenozoic.htm Page uploaded on WebDyer Site on 10 June 2004 ,
last modified 10 June 2004 Unless otherwise attributed, text on this page
is licensed under a
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