Cretaceous Cretaceous The Cretaceous (, ) is a geologic period and system that spans 79 million years from the end of the Jurassic Period million years ago (mya) to the beginning of the Paleogene Period mya. It is the last period of the Mesozoic Era, and the longest period of the Phanerozoic Eon. The Cretaceous Period is usually abbreviated K, for its German translation "Kreide" (chalk, "creta" in Latin). The Cretaceous was a period with a relatively warm climate, resulting in high eustatic sea levels that created numerous shallow inland seas. These oceans and seas were populated with now-extinct marine reptiles,
Triassic–Jurassic extinction event the Jurassic period. This event happened in less than 10,000 years and occurred just before Pangaea started to break apart. In the area of Tübingen (Germany), a Triassic-Jurassic bonebed can be found, which is characteristic for this boundary. The extinction event marks a floral turnover as well. About 60% of the diverse monosaccate and bisaccate pollen assemblages disappear at the T-J boundary, indicating a major extinction of plant genera. Early Jurassic pollen assemblages are dominated by "Corollina", a new genus that took advantage of the empty niches left by the extinction. Statistical analysis of marine losses at this time suggests