1. The Cenozoic Era

2. The Cenozoic era started 65 mya – present day We are still in the Cenozoic era “The Age of Mammals”

3. Cenozoic Life Mammals dominate; dinosaurs (a major predator of mammals) are extinct so mammals can flourish

4. What are Mammals? Mammals are warm-blooded (steady body temperatures), have live babies (no eggs), and are covered with hair or fur The first mammals were small but they evolved during the Cenozoic to: – Larger sizes – Bigger brain capacities – Specialized teeth per their diet – Specialized limbs per their environment

5. What allowed Mammals to Evolve? Few predators on land The evolution of things like – Grasses – for grazers like cow/deer/horses

6. Large mammals evolved like: – Hornless rhino – Wooly mammoth – Saber-toothed cats

7. During the Cenozoic, there were also many ice ages (periods of time when large parts of the continents were covered with ice sheets)

8. Human Evolution Our first ancestors evolved about 3.5 mya Modern day humans evolved about 100,000 years ago (likely migrated from Africa)

9. Precambrian Era 4.6 bya -540 mya Paleozoic Era 540 mya -248 mya Mesozoic Era 248 mya – 65 mya Cenozoic Era 65 mya - present