Cenozoic Era

Cenozoic Era
	Temporal information
Time span	65.5 million years ago to the present
Part of	Phanerozoic Eon
	Chronological information
Previous period; Mesozoic Era	Following period; N/A

The Cenozoic Era, (also known as Cainozoic), is the third major era of our history. It began after the Mesozoic Era and it continues in the Recent. It began roughly 66+/-3 MYA. The Cenozoic Era includes the Paleogene, the Neogene and the Quaternary periods.

The Cenozoic Era's climate was marked by large shifts of global warming and cooling, followed by the rising and falling of the sea levels. During this time warm-blooded animals, birds and mammals begin to dominate on land and in the air; the mammals also return to the water - all of the major groups of marine mammals evolved during this time period, and most of them have existed ever since.

The primates have also appeared and spread out during the Cenozoic; the shift from the Neogene to the Anthropogene periods is marked by appearance of the first humans. Modern plant families have also become established during the Cenozoic; the flowering plants have reached their dominance. The last stage of Cenozoic was marked by an Ice Age.