Quaternary period The Cenozoic era was marked by a large-scale glaciation, which had a huge impact on the development of life on the planet. As the glaciers advanced, the climatic barrier of life slowly moved south, the wild vegetation of the Cenozoic also retreated south. In the interglacial epochs, it again returned to its original territories. True, in some regions of the world, the return of vegetation was often blocked by mountain ranges, which predetermined the extinction of many plants. temperate zone. Their fate was shared by some groups of animals, directly or indirectly dependent on certain types of vegetation.
Many representatives of the animal world managed to adapt to the intensified cold weather, acquiring thick hair. The Pleistocene era is characterized by a wide distribution of saber-toothed cats, marsupials and cave lions. In the Pleistocene, the first people appeared, and many large mammals on the contrary, began to die out. Cooling alternated with warming. IN glacial period three zones of vegetation were clearly distinguished on the planet: tundra, steppe and taiga. They were located south of the advancing glaciers, in an area 200-320 km wide. Thus, repeated glaciations significantly devastated the flora of the planet, and the return of heat-loving plants from south to north was hampered by mountain ranges that acted as barriers to the settlement of vegetation.
Nevertheless, in the warmest interglacial epochs of the Quaternary period, there were widespread deciduous forests dominated by oak, beech, linden, maple, ash, hornbeam, alder, walnut and hawthorn. During a large-scale glaciation, water vapor condensed in the form of snow, but the melting of ice and snow annually produced less water than snow fell. The gradual accumulation of ice reserves on land contributed to lowering the level of the World Ocean. Therefore, in the Quaternary period, special land bridges arose between continental Europe and the British Isles, Asia and North America, the Amur region and Sakhalin, as well as between the Indochina peninsula and the islands of the Sunda archipelago.
These land bridges carried out the exchange of animals and plants. At the same time, it was precisely the absence of a connecting link between Asia and Australia that preserved the life of cloacal and marsupials, which, even in the Tertiary period, were completely replaced by placental mammals on other continents of the planet. In the Quaternary period, various groups of mammals and, in particular, elephants met. The largest of them lived in forests and had a shoulder height of over 4 m. In the Siberian tundra, the cold-loving mammoth Mammuthus primigenius, covered with thick and long reddish hair, occupied a dominant position. During one of the ice ages, mammoths probably crossed the ice of the Bering Strait and settled throughout North America. Skeletons of heavy-weight mastodons are often found today in this region of the world.
Prominent representatives of the fauna of that time are large woolly rhinos, which during the epoch of glaciation lived in the tundra next to mammoths. There was also a resettlement of horses, whose homeland is North America. Moving through Asia and Europe, they gradually settled around the world. It is noteworthy that in North America itself, horses died out by the end of the Pleistocene and returned there only with the European conquerors. It is a pity that we were never able to see them, because these animals had a delightful appearance. Today, many fans of the world of fauna like to put pictures of animals in photo frames and hang them on their walls. But it is better, of course, to insert photos of loved ones there.
Numerous subspecies of the wild horse inhabited the savannas of the European continent as early as the beginning of the Quaternary. Among the ruminant artiodactyls, one can distinguish a huge large-mouthed deer, the distance between the horns of which reached 3 m. Musk oxen, primitive bison and aurochs, the ancestors of modern domestic bulls, bred in large numbers. In the Quaternary period, our planet was also inhabited by numerous predators, among them huge cave Ursus bears spelaeus, the saber-toothed tiger Machairodus, whose long fangs resembled crooked Turkish scimitars, and cave lions Pamhera spelaea. The well-known hyenas, wolves, foxes, raccoons and wolverines already lived in the glacial stage.

The Holocene epoch of the Quaternary period is the time of the formation of the modern appearance of the fauna and flora of our planet. The diversity of living organisms today is noticeably less than in past geological epochs. This may have contributed to the intense human impact on the environment. The appearance of the first great apes even in the Tertiary period ensured their further evolution in the Quaternary period of the Cenozoic. The appearance of ancient ancestors became possible modern man- Driopithecus and Australopithecus. The next stage in the evolutionary ladder is the emergence of a skilled man, the first representative of the genus Homo, and, finally, the species to which the people living now belong, Homo sapiens. From that moment, a completely new life began on the planet.
With the advent of man modern look and the development of human civilization during the Quaternary period, it was proposed to call this stage of the Cenozoic era the Anthropogen. During the Holocene era, human civilization spread throughout the world. It has gradually become the most important global factor that has changed the biosphere of our planet. In particular, the emergence of agriculture has destroyed a large number of species of wild plants in order to clear crop areas and pastures. In many cases, the activities of people were ill-conceived and destructive to their environment.
Thus, the Quaternary period of the Cenozoic passed already with the participation and significant influence of man on the world around him. As the ice melted, the human civilization settled on the territories freed from under the glaciers. During this period, mastodons, mammoths, saber-toothed tigers and bighorn deer. A significant role in this process was again played by ancient people who were actively engaged in hunting. They exterminated the mammoth and woolly rhinoceros in Eurasia, as well as mastodons, horses and sea ​​cows in America. Plowing land, widespread hunting, burning forests for pastures and trampling grass stands by domestic animals have reduced the habitats of many representatives of the steppe fauna. Human activities contributed to the expansion of desert areas and the emergence of shifting sands.
The separation and movement of individual continents, as well as the establishment of climatic zonality, led to the isolation of representatives of the biosphere by region. The development of life in the Cenozoic ensured that biodiversity on Earth that we can observe today. The result of the long evolution of life on our planet was the appearance of Homo sapiens at the end of the Quaternary period of the Cenozoic. With the end of prehistoric times, man began to create his own history. If about 4 thousand years ago about 50 million people lived in the world, then already in the first half 19th century The number of people on the planet has exceeded one billion. It is human activity that largely predetermined the species composition of the biosphere that exists at the present time. Man also influenced the modern geographical distribution of living organisms on Earth.

The last geological and current Quaternary period was identified in 1829 by the scientist Jules Denoyer. In Russia, it is also called anthropogenic. The author of this name in 1922 was the geologist Alexei Pavlov. With his initiative, he wanted to emphasize that it was given period associated with the appearance of man.

The uniqueness of the period

Compared with other geological periods, the Quaternary period is characterized by an extremely short duration (only 1.65 million years). Continuing today, it remains unfinished. Another feature is the presence in the Quaternary deposits of the remains of human culture. This period is characterized by repeated and abrupt climatic changes that radically influenced natural conditions.

Periodically repeated cold snaps led to glaciation of the northern latitudes and humidification low latitudes. Warmings caused exactly Sedimentary formations of the last millennia are distinguished by the complex structure of the section, the relative short duration of formation and the diversity of layers. The Quaternary period is divided into two epochs (or divisions): Pleistocene and Holocene. The border between them lies at the mark of 12 thousand years ago.

Migrations of flora and fauna

From its very beginning, the Quaternary period was characterized by close to the modern flora and fauna. Changes in this fund depended entirely on a series of cooling and warming periods. With the onset of glaciation, cold-loving species migrated south and mixed with strangers. During periods of increasing average temperatures, the reverse process occurred. At that time, the area of ​​settlement of moderately warm, subtropical and tropical flora and fauna greatly expanded. For some time entire tundra associations of the organic world disappeared.

Flora had to adapt several times to radically changing conditions of existence. Many cataclysms during this time marked the Quaternary period. Climatic swings led to the impoverishment of broad-leaved and evergreen forms, as well as the expansion of the range of herbaceous species.

Mammal evolution

The most noticeable changes in the animal world have affected mammals (especially ungulates and proboscis of the Northern Hemisphere). In the Pleistocene, due to sharp climatic changes, many heat-loving species died out. At the same time, for the same reason, new animals appeared, better adapted to life in harsh natural conditions. The extinction of the fauna reached its peak during the Dnieper glaciation (300 - 250 thousand years ago). At the same time, cooling determined the formation of a platform cover in the Quaternary.

Late Pliocene south of Eastern Europe was home to mastodons, southern elephants, hipparions, saber-toothed tigers, Etruscan rhinos, etc. In the west of the Old World lived ostriches and hippos. However, already in the early Pleistocene animal world began to change radically. With the onset of the Dnieper glaciation, many heat-loving species moved to the south. The distribution area of ​​the flora shifted in the same direction. The Cenozoic era (the Quaternary period in particular) tested any form of life for strength.

Quaternary bestiary

On the southern borders of the glacier, such species as the rhinoceros, reindeer, musk ox, lemmings, and white partridges first appeared. All of them lived exclusively in cold regions. bears, hyenas, giant rhinos and other heat-loving animals that used to live in these regions have died out.

A cold climate was established in the Caucasus, in the Alps, Carpathians and Pyrenees, which forced many species to leave the highlands and settle in the valleys. Woolly rhinos and mammoths even occupied southern Europe (not to mention the whole of Siberia, from where they came to North America). Australia, South America, South and Central Africa preserved by its own isolation from the rest of the world. Mammoths and other animals, well adapted to the harsh climate, died out at the beginning of the Holocene. It should be noted that despite numerous glaciations, about 2/3 of the Earth's surface has never been affected by the ice sheet.

Human development

As mentioned above, the various definitions of the Quaternary period cannot do without "anthropogenic". The rapid development of man is the most an important event throughout this historical period. Today, East Africa is considered the place where the most ancient people appeared.

The ancestral form of modern man is Australopithecus, which belonged to the family of hominids. According to various estimates, they first appeared in Africa 5 million years ago. Australopithecus gradually became upright and omnivorous. About 2 million years ago, they learned how to make primitive tools. This is how Pithecanthropus appeared a million years ago, the remains of which are found in Germany, Hungary and China.

Neanderthals and modern humans

350 thousand years ago, paleoanthropes (or Neanderthals) appeared, extinct 35 thousand years ago. Traces of their activities were found in the southern and temperate latitudes Europe. Paleoanthropists have been replaced modern people(neoanthropes or homo sapines). They were the first to penetrate into America and Australia, and also colonized numerous islands of several oceans.

Already the earliest neoanthropes were almost indistinguishable from today's people. They adapted well and quickly to climatic changes and skillfully learned how to work stone. acquired bone products, primitive musical instruments, objects visual arts, decorations.

The Quaternary period in the south of Russia left numerous archaeological sites related to neoanthropes. However, they also reached the northernmost regions. People learned to survive the cold snap with the help of fur clothes and fires. Therefore, for example, the Quaternary period of Western Siberia was also marked by the expansion of people who tried to develop new territories. 5 thousand years ago began 3 thousand years ago - iron. At the same time, centers of ancient civilization were born in Mesopotamia, Egypt and the Mediterranean.

Minerals

Scientists have divided into several groups the minerals that the Quaternary period has left us. Deposits of the last millenniums belong to various placers, non-metallic and combustible materials, ores of sedimentary origin. Coastal and alluvial deposits are known. The most important minerals of the Quaternary period: gold, diamonds, platinum, cassiterite, ilmenite, rutile, zircon.

Besides, great value iron ores of lacustrine and lacustrine-marsh origin differ. This group also includes manganese and copper-vanadium deposits. Such accumulations are common in the oceans.

Subsoil wealth

Even today, equatorial and tropical rocks quaternary period. As a result of this process, laterite is formed. This formation is covered with aluminum and iron and is an important African mineral. The metal-bearing crusts of the same latitudes are rich in deposits of nickel, cobalt, copper, manganese, and refractory clays.

Important non-metallic minerals also appeared in the Quaternary period. These are gravel pits (they are widely used in construction), molding and glass sands, potash and rock salts, sulfur, borates, peat, and lignite. Quaternary deposits contain groundwater, which is the main source of clean water. drinking water. Do not forget about permafrost and ice. In general, the last geological period remains the crown of the geological evolution of the Earth, which began more than 4.5 billion years ago.

The Cenozoic Ice Age (30 million years ago - present) is a recently begun ice age.

Is the present time the Holocene that has begun? 10,000 years ago, characterized as a relatively warm period after the Pleistocene ice age, often qualified as an interglacial. Ice sheets exist in the high latitudes of the northern (Greenland) and southern (Antarctica) hemispheres; at the same time, in the northern hemisphere, the Greenland ice cover extends south to 60 ° north latitude (i.e., to the latitude of St. Petersburg), fragments of the sea ice cover - to 46--43 ° north latitude (i.e. Crimea), and permafrost up to 52--47 ° north latitude. In the southern hemisphere, the continental part of Antarctica is covered by an ice sheet with a thickness of 2500–2800 m (up to 4800 m in some areas of East Antarctica), while ice shelves make up ? 10% of the area of ​​the continent that rises above sea level. In the Cenozoic ice age the strongest is the Pleistocene ice age: a decrease in temperature led to the glaciation of the Arctic Ocean and the northern regions of the Atlantic and Pacific Ocean, while the boundary of glaciation passed 1500–1700 km south of the modern one.

Geologists divide the Cenozoic into two periods: Tertiary (65 - 2 million years ago) and Quaternary (2 million years ago - our time), which in turn are divided into epochs. Of these, the first is much longer than the second, but the second - Quaternary - has a number of unique features; this is the time of the ice ages and the final formation of the modern face of the Earth.

Rice. 4

*34 million years ago - the birth of the Antarctic ice sheet

*25 million years ago -- its abbreviation

* 13 million years ago -- its re-growth

* about 3 million years ago - the beginning of the Pleistocene ice age, the repeated appearance and disappearance of ice sheets in the northern regions of the Earth

Tertiary period

The Tertiary period consists of epochs:

Paleocene

Oligocene

Pliocene

Paleocene epoch (from 65 to 55 million years ago)

Geography and climate: The Paleocene marked the beginning of the Cenozoic era. At that time, the continents were still in motion, because "the great southern mainland"Gondwana continued to split apart. South America was now completely cut off from the rest of the world and turned into a kind of floating "ark" with a unique fauna of early mammals. Africa, India and Australia moved further away from each other. Throughout the Paleocene, Australia was located close Antarctica: Sea levels have dropped and new land masses have appeared in many parts of the world.

Fauna: On land, the age of mammals began. Rodents and insectivores appeared. Among them were large animals, both predatory and herbivorous. In the seas, marine reptiles have been replaced by new species of predatory bony fish and sharks. New varieties of bivalves and foraminifera emerged.

Flora: New species of flowering plants and the insects that pollinated them continued to spread.

Eocene epoch (from 55 to 38 million years ago)

Geography and climate: In the Eocene, the main land masses began to gradually assume a position close to that which they occupy today. A large part of the land was still divided into a kind of giant islands, as the huge continents continued to move away from each other. South America has lost contact with Antarctica, and India has moved closer to Asia. At the beginning of the Eocene, Antarctica and Australia were still located nearby, but later they began to diverge. North America and Europe also split, with new mountain ranges. The sea flooded part of the land. The climate was generally warm or temperate. Most of it was covered with lush tropical vegetation, and vast areas were overgrown with dense swampy forests.

Fauna: Appeared on land the bats, lemurs, tarsiers; the ancestors of today's elephants, horses, cows, pigs, tapirs, rhinos and deer; other large herbivores. Other mammals, such as whales and sirens, have returned to aquatic environment. The number of species of freshwater bony fish has increased. Other groups of animals also evolved, including ants and bees, starlings and penguins, giant flightless birds, moles, camels, rabbits and voles, cats, dogs, and bears.

Flora: In many parts of the world, forests with lush vegetation grew, palm trees grew in temperate latitudes.

Oligocene epoch (from 38 to 25 million years ago)

Geography and climate: In the Oligocene era, India crossed the equator, and Australia finally separated from Antarctica. The climate on Earth has become cooler, over south pole a huge ice sheet formed. For education so a large number ice required no less significant volumes sea ​​water. This led to a decrease in sea levels throughout the planet and the expansion of the territory occupied by land. The widespread cooling caused the disappearance of violent rainforest Eocene in many parts of the world. Their place was taken by forests, which preferred a more temperate (cool) climate, as well as vast steppes spread over all continents.

Fauna: With the spread of the steppes, the rapid flowering of herbivorous mammals began. Among them, new species of rabbits, hares, giant sloths, rhinos and other ungulates arose. The first ruminants appeared.

Flora: Tropical forests have shrunk and begun to give way to temperate forests, and vast steppes have appeared. New herbs spread rapidly, new types of herbivores developed.

Miocene epoch (from 25 to 5 million years ago)

Geography and climate: During the Miocene, the continents were still "on the march", and during their collisions a number of grandiose cataclysms occurred. Africa "crashed" into Europe and Asia, resulting in the emergence of the Alps. When India and Asia collided, the Himalayan mountains shot up. At the same time, the Rocky Mountains and the Andes formed as other giant plates continued to shift and pile on top of each other.

However, Austria and South America remained isolated from the rest of the world, and each of these continents continued to develop its own unique fauna and flora. The ice sheet in the southern hemisphere spread to the whole of Antarctica, which led to further cooling of the climate.

Fauna: Mammals migrated from mainland to mainland along the newly formed land bridges, which dramatically accelerated evolutionary processes. Elephants from Africa moved to Eurasia, while cats, giraffes, pigs and buffaloes moved in the opposite direction. Saber-toothed cats and monkeys appeared, including anthropoids. In Australia, cut off from the outside world, monotremes and marsupials continued to develop.

Flora: Inland regions became colder and drier, and steppes spread more and more in them.

Pliocene epoch (from 5 to 2 million years ago)

Geography and Climate: A space traveler looking down on the Earth at the beginning of the Pliocene would find the continents in almost the same places as they are today. The gaze of a galactic visitor would open up giant ice caps in the northern hemisphere and the huge ice sheet of Antarctica. Because of all this mass of ice, the climate of the Earth became even cooler, and it became much colder on the surface of the continents and oceans of our planet. Most of the forests that survived in the Miocene disappeared, giving way to vast steppes that spread all over the world.

Fauna: Herbivorous hoofed mammals continued to multiply and evolve rapidly. Toward the end of the period, a land bridge connected South and North America, which led to a grand "exchange" of animals between the two continents. It is believed that the intensified interspecific competition caused the extinction of many ancient animals. Rats entered Australia, and the first humanoid creatures appeared in Africa.

Flora: As the climate cools, steppes have replaced forests.

Fig.5

Quaternary period

Consists of epochs:

Pleistocene

Holocene

Pleistocene epoch (from 2 to 0.01 million years ago)

Geography and climate: At the beginning of the Pleistocene, most of the continents occupied the same position as today, and some of them needed to cross half the globe to do this. A narrow land "bridge" connected North and South America. Australia was located on the opposite side of the Earth from Britain. Giant ice sheets were creeping into the northern hemisphere. It was the era of the great glaciation with alternating periods of cooling and warming and fluctuations in sea level. This ice age continues to this day.

Animals: Some animals have managed to adapt to the increased cold by acquiring thick wool: for example, woolly mammoths and rhinos. Of the predators, saber-toothed cats and cave lions are the most common. This was the age of the giant marsupials in Australia and the huge flightless birds, such as the moa or epiornis, that lived in many parts of the southern hemisphere. The first people appeared, and many large mammals began to disappear from the face of the Earth.

Flora: Ice gradually crept from the poles, and coniferous forests gave way to the tundra. Farther from the edge of the glaciers, deciduous forests gave way to coniferous ones. In the warmer regions of the globe, there are vast steppes.

Holocene epoch (from 0.01 million years to the present day)

Geography and climate: The Holocene began 10,000 years ago. During the entire Holocene, the continents occupied practically the same places as today, the climate was also similar to the modern one, becoming either warmer or colder every few millennia. Today we are experiencing one of the periods of warming. As the ice sheets decreased, the sea level slowly rose. The beginning of the time of the human race.

Fauna: At the beginning of the period, many species of animals became extinct, mainly due to the general warming of the climate, but, perhaps, increased human hunting for them also affected. Later, they may have fallen victim to competition from new animal species introduced by people from other places. Human civilization has become more advanced and spread all over the world.

Flora: With the advent of agriculture, the peasants destroyed more and more wild plants in order to clear areas for crops and pastures. In addition, plants brought by people to areas new to them sometimes crowded out indigenous vegetation.

Rice. 6

Ice Age Tertiary Quaternary

Cenozoic era (Cenozoic)

Page 1 of 11

Cenozoic era represents the current era, which began 66 million years ago, going immediately after the Mesozoic. Specifically, it originates on the border of the Cretaceous and Paleogene, when the second largest catastrophic extinction of species occurred on Earth. This era is significant for the development of mammals that replaced dinosaurs and other reptiles, which almost completely died out at the turn of these eras. In the process of development of mammals, a genus of primates stood out, from which humans later arose. If we translate the concept Cenozoic” from Greek, it will look like “New Life”.

Periods of the Cenozoic era, paleography and climate

Main periods of the Cenozoic era- Paleogene, consisting of the Paleocene (66 - 56 million years ago), Eocene (56 - 34 million years ago) and Oligocene (40 - 23 million years ago), Neogene, the sections of which are Miocene ( 23 - 5 million years ago) and the Pliocene (5 - 2.5 million years ago) and the current Quaternary, dividing into the Pleistocene (2.5 million years ago - about 12 thousand years ago .) and the Holocene, originating about 12 thousand years ago. n. and lasting to this day.

During the Cenozoic era, the geographical outlines of the continents acquired the form that exists today. The North American continent moved further and further away from the remaining Laurasian, and now the Eurasian part of the global northern continent, and the South American segment moved further and further away from the African segment of southern Gondwana. Australia and Antarctica retreated more and more to the south, while the Indian segment was more and more “squeezed out” to the north, until, finally, it joined the South Asian part of the future Eurasia, causing the rise of the Caucasian mainland, and also largely contributing to the rise from the water and the rest of the current part of the European continent.

The climate of the Cenozoic era constantly harsh. The cooling was not absolutely sharp, but still not all groups of animals and plant species got used to it. It was during the Cenozoic that the upper and southern ice caps were formed in the region of the poles, and climate map land acquired the zonality that we have today. It is a pronounced equatorial belt along the earth's equator, and further in order of distance to the poles - subequatorial, tropical, subtropical, temperate, and beyond the polar circles, respectively, the arctic and antarctic climatic zones.

Let's take a closer look at the periods of the Cenozoic era.

Paleogene

Throughout almost all Paleogene period In the Cenozoic era, the climate was warm and humid, although a constant trend towards cooling could be traced throughout its length. The average temperature in the North Sea area was kept within 22-26°C. But by the end of the Paleogene, it began to get colder and sharper, and at the turn of the Neogene, the northern and southern ice caps were already formed. And if in the case of the northern sea these were separate areas of alternately forming and melting wandering ice, then in the case of Antarctica, a persistent ice sheet began to form here, which still exists today. Medium annual temperature in the area of ​​current polar circles dropped to 5°C.

But until the first frosts hit the poles, renewed life, both in the sea and ocean depths and on the continents, flourished. Due to the extinction of dinosaurs, mammals completely populated all continental spaces. During the first two Paleogene divisions, mammals diverged and evolved into many different forms. Many different proboscis animals arose, indicothere (rhino), tapir and pig-like. Most of them were chained to some kind of water bodies, but many species of rodents also appeared, which also felt excellent in the depths of the continents. Some of them gave rise to the first ancestors of horses and other one and artiodactyls. The first predators (creodonts) began to appear. New species of birds arose, and vast areas of the savannas were inhabited by diatryms - a variety of flightless bird varieties.

Insects multiplied unusually. In the seas, cephalopods and bivalve molluscs multiplied everywhere. Corals grew very strongly, new varieties of crustaceans appeared, but bony fish received the greatest flourishing.

The most widespread in the Paleogene were such plants of the Cenozoic era, like tree-like ferns, all kinds of sandalwood, banana and breadfruit trees. Closer to the equator, chestnut, laurel, oak, sequoia, araucaria, cypress, and myrtle trees grew. In the first period of the Cenozoic, dense vegetation was also widespread far beyond the polar circles. Basically these were mixed forests, but it was precisely coniferous and deciduous broad-leaved plants that prevailed here, the prosperity of which was absolutely no obstacle to the polar nights.

Neogene

At the initial stage Neogene the climate was still comparatively warm, but a slow cooling trend still persisted. The ice heaps of the northern seas began to melt more and more slowly, until the upper northern shield also began to form. The climate, due to cooling, began to acquire an increasingly pronounced continental color. It was during this period of the Cenozoic era that the continents became most similar to modern ones. South America merged with North America, and just at that time, climatic zoning acquired similar features to modern ones. By the end of the Neogene in the Pliocene, the second wave of sharp cooling hit the globe.

Despite the fact that the Neogene was two times shorter than the Paleogene, it was he who was marked by explosive evolution among mammals. It was placental varieties that dominated everywhere. The main mass of mammals was divided into anchitheria, the ancestors of horse-like and hipparion, also horse-like and three-toed, but gave rise to hyenas, lions and other modern predators. All kinds of rodents were diverse at that time of the Cenozoic era, the first distinct ostrich-like ones began to appear. Due to the cooling and the fact that the climate began to acquire an increasingly continental color, areas of ancient steppes, savannahs and light forests expanded, where the ancestors of modern bison, giraffe-like, deer-like, pigs and other mammals grazed in large numbers, which were constantly hunted by the ancient Cenozoic predators. It was at the end of the Neogene that the first ancestors of humanoid primates began to appear in the forests.

Despite the winters of the polar latitudes, in equatorial belt the land was still teeming with tropical vegetation. The broad-leaved woody plants. Consisting of them, as a rule, evergreen forests interspersed and bordered on savannas and shrubs of other woodlands, subsequently it was they who gave diversity to the modern Mediterranean flora, namely olive, plane trees, walnuts, boxwood, southern pine and cedar.

The northern forests were also varied. There were no evergreens here, but in the majority chestnut, sequoia and other coniferous-broad-leaved and deciduous trees grew and took root. Later, in connection with the second sharp cooling, vast areas of tundra and forest-steppes formed in the north. The tundra filled all the zones with the current temperate climate, and the places where until recently rainforests turned into deserts and semi-deserts.

Anthropogen (h quaternary period)

IN Anthropogenic period unexpected warmings alternated with equally sharp cold snaps. The boundaries of the glacial zone of the Anthropogen sometimes reached 40° northern latitudes. Under the northern ice cap were North America, Europe up to the Alps, the Scandinavian Peninsula, the Northern Urals, Eastern Siberia. Also, in connection with glaciation and the melting of ice caps, there was either a decline or a re-advance of the sea to land. The periods between glaciations were accompanied by marine regression and a mild climate. On this moment there is one of these intervals, which should be replaced no later than in the next 1000 years by the next stage of icing. It will last approximately 20 thousand years, until it is again replaced by another period of warming. Here it is worth noting that the alternation of intervals can occur much faster, or it can be completely disturbed due to human intervention in earthly natural processes. It is likely that the Cenozoic era could be ended by a global ecological catastrophe similar to the one that caused the death of many species in the Permian and Cretaceous periods.

Animals of the Cenozoic Era during the Anthropogen period, together with vegetation, they were pushed to the south by alternately advancing ice from the north. The main role still belonged to mammals, which showed truly miracles of adaptability. With the onset of cold weather, massive woolly animals appeared, such as mammoths, megaloceros, rhinos, etc. All kinds of bears, wolves, deer, lynxes also bred strongly. Due to alternating waves of cooling and warming, animals were forced to constantly migrate. extinct great amount species that did not have time to adapt to the onset of cooling.

Against the background of these processes of the Cenozoic era, humanoid primates also developed. They increasingly improved their skills in the possession of all kinds of useful objects and tools. At some point, they began to use these tools for hunting purposes, that is, for the first time, tools of labor acquired the status of weapons. And from now on various types Animals are in real danger of extinction. And many animals, such as mammoths, giant sloths, North American horses, which were considered by primitive people to be commercial, were completely destroyed.

In the zone of alternating glaciations, the tundra and taiga regions alternated with forest-steppe, and tropical and subtropical forests were strongly pushed to the south, but despite this, most plant species survived and adapted to modern conditions. The dominant forests between periods of icing were broad-leaved and coniferous.

IN currently cenozoic era Man reigns everywhere on the planet. He randomly interferes in all sorts of earthly and natural processes. Behind last century V earth's atmosphere a huge amount of substances was thrown out that contribute to the formation of the greenhouse effect and, as a result, faster warming. It is worth noting that the more rapid melting of ice and the rise in the level of the world ocean contributes to the disruption of the general picture of the climatic development of the earth. Due to upcoming changes, undercurrents may be disrupted, and, as a result, the general planetary intra-atmospheric heat exchange, which may lead to even more massive icing of the planet following the warming that has begun at the moment. It is becoming more and more clear that what will be the duration of Cenozoic era, and how it will eventually end, will now depend not on natural and other natural forces, but on the depth and unceremoniousness of human intervention in global natural processes.

More details and details periods of the Cenozoic era will be considered in the following lectures.

The Cenozoic era, or as it is often called Cenozoic, has been going on for 65.5 million years. It began after the extinction of many animal species at the end of the Cretaceous. Note that we live in the Cenozoic to the present time. Title translated from Greek means new life. The Cenozoic era includes the following periods: Tertiary and Quaternary. The first, in turn, consists of the Paleocene and Pliocene, and the second - the Pleistocene and Holocene. However, most often in the literature, geologists do not use this division, since the changes in evolution are very small.
In short, the development of life in the Cenozoic era reached a peak in the history of the Earth. This is especially true for marine, flying and terrestrial species. If you look from a geological point of view, then it was during this period that our planet acquired its modern appearance. Thus, New Guinea and Australia are now independent, although they were previously annexed to Gondwana. These two territories have shifted closer to Asia. Antarctica, as it has become in its place, and remains on it to this day. The territories of North and South America were connected, but nevertheless today they are divided into two separate continents. The Cenozoic era presentation is located below:

After the threat posed by big dinosaurs, the Cenozoic era was a time of prosperity for mammals. The first mammals coexisted quite peacefully with birds, common reptiles and invertebrates. Climatic conditions became colder and drier as the continents separated from each other and took up approximately their present-day positions. Some scientists believe that it was at this time that the rise of the Himalayas occurred.

The availability of year-round grazing allowed entire herds of grazing animals to thrive, along with now-extinct side branches of the evolutionary tree. Temperatures continued to drop as the mainland of Antarctica formed. The emergence of the Homo sapiens branch among mammals took place in the last few minutes of this era (geologically speaking) along with the use of primitive tools, fire and the invention of the wheel, while the older species died out.

The Cenozoic era originates from the Tertiary period. This name is already a little outdated today, but at the moment it is the largest stage. This period ended 1.8 million years ago, when the ice age began (so far the last in the history of the Earth). This name was given to the stage by the Italian Arduino. At first, he divided all periods of the Cenozoic era in numerical order, starting from the primary and ending with the tertiary. After some time, the Quaternary also entered here. Then, in 1828, the penultimate stage was well studied by the Scottish specialist Charles Lyell. Moreover, he introduced so much information that the tertiary had to be divided into four stages at once. In his teachings, he based himself on fossil molluscs, that is, on their population density. These creatures were not chosen in vain, since their appearance resembles modern species. Epochs gave Greek "names": Eocene, Miocene, as well as the Ancient and New Pliocene. This distribution was well suited for Italy, but the division was not common to other parts of the globe. Subsequently, during research, no one resorted to the help of mollusks, and the epochs underwent changes. Now, according to the new standard, the Tertiary period consists of the Paleogene and the Neogene.
Let's briefly talk about each. The first lasted for 40 million years. It was during this period that life in the Cenozoic era became much brighter and richer. Many representatives of the fauna settled in territories previously occupied by dinosaurs. Some species have undergone changes in the process of evolution. 24.6 million years ago, the period came to an end due to the beginning of the drying of the climate. It is divided into three eras, the names of which are no longer used today.
Then the Cenozoic era moved into a new stage - the Neogene. Its duration was 22 million years. In character, it differs significantly from its predecessor. In this period, the number of mammalian species decreased, but at the same time they began to contact each other more closely. Also note that the climate continues to dry out, and average temperature air at the same time gradually descend. Thus, the Ice Age began 1.8 million years ago. The Tertiary period is conditionally divided into Miocene and Pliocene.
The Cenozoic era becomes much more interesting in the Quaternary period, often also called the Anthropogen. It is he who is the final stage of the Cenozoic, began 2.6 million years ago. In the era under consideration, this period is the shortest. First of all, it is characterized by the acquisition of a modern type of terrain, and the most important is the appearance of man. By the way, it is difficult for paleontologists to examine the remains, since in this case it is impossible to determine the age using isotopes. There's only one here effective method– radiocarbon analysis. You can apply other methods, the foundation of which is the decay of short-lived isotopes. As you can see, for scientists the Quaternary period is the most specific. It, in turn, contains two epochs: the Pleistocene and the Holocene. It is interesting to know what the shape of the Earth was when the Cenozoic era reigned, the presentation will tell you:

During the "reign" of the first, huge glaciations reigned, but at the same time they changed cyclically with interglacials, when the air temperature was acceptable. Already at that time, the climate acquired a modern character, only this does not concern animals at all. As an example, the extinction of the South American pampas. The reason for this phenomenon is the frequent change in climatic conditions; in some cases, animals were exterminated by ancient people. If you move completely to South America, then we note the disappearance from the Earth of the sloth Megatherium, the giant saber-toothed cat and the armadillo doedicurus. Then we move to North America, where the fauna has also undergone changes. In particular, there were no tyrant birds. Perhaps you did not know, but in ancient times, camels also lived across the ocean, which later died out. Note the disappearance of the American horse, deer, bulls and antelopes. In Europe, mammoths, cave bears and lions, as well as woolly rhinos, have disappeared. The misfortune also affected the fate of people, and to be precise, the Neanderthals. It was they who lost to the Cro-Magnons in the struggle for power. Only now it is not known how they disappeared from the planet: they were killed or all the same they were eaten.
We are now moving into the Holocene, which was an ordinary interglacial epoch, but was characterized by a stable climate. The Cenozoic era during this period lost many representatives of the fauna, in this case, the primitive man did not calculate the forces. In the middle of the period, people began to competently use the resources provided, in the process of evolution, civilization gained development. It is in the Holocene that the beginning of the technical development of mankind is marked. There are no significant changes in the appearance of animals. In the past period, the number of Megatheria, Epiornis, Dodos, Steller cows was only about a hundred individuals for each species. However, in the Holocene epoch, these representatives completely ceased to exist. Again, the fault is on the part of the person.
As for the climate, it has become much warmer, so global warming is observed today. Scientists associate these changes with the active industrial activity of people. Subsequently, the rise in temperature collapsed the Eurasian and North American glaciers. The Arctic until recently was one whole, but at one point the ice cover slowly began to disintegrate. Numerous mountain ice sheets have been wiped off the face of the Earth. Today they can only be seen in Greenland and Antarctica, since these territories are located near the polar caps. In the 20th century, specialists gave birth to a doctrine in the field of medicine called genetics. Perhaps in the near future they will be able to breed extinct animals that lived in the Pleistocene. We are now living in the Hologen epoch.

Cenozoic era during for long years studied by many researchers. Most of them are on the staff of INQUA. The main activity of this corporation is connected with the study of the Quaternary period, including our time. The organization was founded in 1928. The press service provides a lot of information, and therefore about Cenozoic era Writing an essay is not difficult. Starting from this time, cyclic period in 4 years, a meeting of scientists is planned, and the venues for the seminars change each time. This once again suggests that the Cenozoic era is very popular among scientists. Russia is a member of INQUA, it represents its commission in this organization. In our country, it is headed by Yu.A. Lavrushin, who is a professor at the Geological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences. The Cenozoic era, with the help of world experts, has already been well studied, especially when it comes to animals. After all, technological progress continues to move. Today, the organization devotes more and more time to the issue of conservation of species of flora and fauna, in particular, this concerns deforestation. Although the designers created modern equipment, they could not invent cheap artificial paper.
A total of 18 congresses were held, the last one was held in the capital of Switzerland - Bern. Representatives from 75 countries gathered in the seminar hall in July 2011. Scientists themselves say that they find it hardest to study vegetable world Cenozoic era. After all, this material is poorly preserved to our times, and therefore there are difficulties during the analysis. But today computer models are being created, according to which it is possible to write a whole report about the Cenozoic era.