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Cenozoic
The era of the new life, or as its scientific name - the Cenozoic, began 66 mya, after the mass extinction that wiped out non-avian dinosaurs and other terrestrial and aquatic fauna and flora. Cenozoic is usually called the "Age of Mammals" but this label is misleading. Nowdays, the dinosaurs, represented by modern birds, outnumber mammals by 2 to 1 in regards of living species. This era is divided into 3 periods - Paleogene, Neogene and Quaternary, the latter still continuing today.
During the Cenozoic, the Earth gained its current look. The continents slowly moved to their modern positions, while the Atlantic and Indian oceans continued to open. Contrary, to the forementioned oceans, the Tethyan ocean closed, leaving only few remnants like Mediterranean sea and Black sea. Antarctica moved toward the south pole, and some 40 mya started to accumulate its thick ice sheet. The moving continents and the onset of glaciations led to change in the major ocean currents, which greatly affected planet's climate. The tendency during the Cenozoic is that the climates became more drier and cooler, leading to the great glaciations of the late Neogene and Quaternary periods. Despite this trend, there were separate events of global warming, most notably during the Paleocene-Eocene epochs and later during the Pliocene.
Cenozoic saw the rise of the Himalayas, after the collision between India and Asia, and the final stages of the building up of the Alps.
The life also took modern shape during the Cenozoic, not only on land but in the oceans too. Mammals went through rapid evolution, occuping the ecological niches left open after the mass extinction. All the major mammalian groups have already existed by the beginning of the Neogene. Carnivores and herbivores evolved side by side, coping with competition and the always changing climates. Major event in the evolution of plant life was the expansion of grasslands, which occured during the Oligocene epoch.
One of the most important things that happened during the Cenozoic, from human's point of view, is the origin Hominidae, a group of primates that eventually led to our own species - Homo sapiens.
Head reconstruction of the basal proboscidean Phosphatherium escuiliei. Medium: Pencil Done: 2013
A genus of big flightless bird from the Paleocene and Eocene, of Europe and North America. Gastornis has big head, with slightly curved beak. Although it's usualy depicted as a carnivore, its diet remains a subject of debates - it's equally possible that Gastornis was omnivore, or even herbivore. In older scientific literature, the North American species Gastornis giganteus is known as Diatryma giganteus. Media: Tempera Done: 2008
Head reconstruction of the extinct proboscidean Gomphotherium productum. Medium: Pencil Done: 2013
The family of horses - down (from left to right): Hyracotherium, Orohippus, Mesohippus, Miohippus, Meryhippus, Sinohippus; top (from left to right): Cremohipparion, Hipparion, Hippidion, Pliohippus, Dinohippus, Equus (modern horse). Media: Pencils Done: 2010
The group of mammal that includes modern elephants - down (from left to right): Eritherium, Barytherium, Moeritherium, Palaeomastodon, Platybelodon, Deinotherium; middle (from left to right) - Anancus, Primelephas, Stegodon, Mammut, Mammuthus; top (from left to right) - Loxodonta africana (African elephant), Elephas maximus (Indian elephant). Media: Pencils Done: 2010
Reconstruction of the proboscidean Deinotherium “thraciensis”, one of the most complete specimens of Deinotherium in the world. Some specialists consider D. “thraciensis” synonymous with D. giganteum, while others classified it as D. gigantissimum. Medium: Acrylics. Done: 2014. Client: Science Center for Kids "Muzeiko", Sofia.
Reconstruction of the saber-toothed cat Machairodus giganteus. Machairodus is a felid genus that existed during the miocene epoch through the pleistocene epoch. Media: Brown ink on yellow paper. Done: 2012.
Varanus priscus, also known as Megalania prisca, is a species of big varanid lizard, that lived in Australia during the Pleistocene epoch. It's size is probably comparable to that of the extant Komodo dragon - Varanus komodensis, though some estimates put it at lengths of about 7 meters. Media: Watercolours. Done: 2008.