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The Cretaceous is a geological period that lasted from about 145 to 66 million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era, as well as the longest. At around 79 million years, it is the longest geological period of the entire Phanerozoic. The name is derived from the Latin creta, "chalk", which is abundant in the latter half of the period. It is usually abbreviated K, for its German translation Kreide.
The Mesozoic Era, also called the Age of Reptiles and the Age of Conifers, is the second-to-last era of Earth's geological history, lasting from about 252 to 66 million years ago, comprising the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous Periods. It is characterized by the dominance of archosaurian reptiles, like the dinosaurs; an abundance of conifers and ferns; a hot greenhouse climate; and the tectonic break-up of Pangaea. The Mesozoic is the middle of the three eras since complex life evolved: the Paleozoic, the Mesozoic, and the Cenozoic.
The Radiolaria, also called Radiozoa, are protozoa of diameter 0.1–0.2 mm that produce intricate mineral skeletons, typically with a central capsule dividing the cell into the inner and outer portions of endoplasm and ectoplasm. The elaborate mineral skeleton is usually made of silica. They are found as zooplankton throughout the global ocean. As zooplankton, radiolarians are primarily heterotrophic, but many have photosynthetic endosymbionts and are, therefore, considered mixotrophs. The skeletal remains of some types of radiolarians make up a large part of the cover of the ocean floor as siliceous ooze. Due to their rapid change as species and intricate skeletons, radiolarians represent an important diagnostic fossil found from the Cambrian onwards.
The Lamniformes are an order of sharks commonly known as mackerel sharks. It includes some of the most familiar species of sharks, such as the great white, as well as more unusual representatives, such as the goblin shark and megamouth shark.
Lubok Antu District is a district in the Sri Aman Division of the state of Sarawak, Malaysia. It borders on Indonesia and a Malaysian border crossing checkpoint is located here. The checkpoint on the Indonesian side is called the Nanga Badau Border Crossing Checkpoint located in the village of Badau, West Kalimantan. The seat of Lubok Antu District is the town of Lubok Antu.
Pneumatoarthrus is an extinct genus of sea turtle known from the Late Cretaceous Mount Laurel Formation of Monmouth County, New Jersey. Only a single species, P. peloreus, is known.
The Pleurodira are one of the two living suborders of turtles, the other being the Cryptodira. The division between these two suborders represents a very deep evolutionary divide between two very different types of turtles. The physical differences between them, although anatomical and largely internal, are nonetheless significant, and the zoogeographic implications of them are substantial. The Pleurodira are known more commonly as the side-necked turtles and the name Pleurodira quite literally translates to side neck, whereas the Cryptodira are known as hidden-necked turtles. The Pleurodira turtles are currently restricted to freshwater habitats in the Southern Hemisphere, largely to Australia, South America, and Africa. Within the Pleurodira, three living families are represented: Chelidae, also known as the Austro-South American side-necked turtles, the Pelomedusidae, also known as the African mud terrapins, and the Podocnemididae, also known as the American side-neck river turtles. However, they were cosmopolitan clade during the Cretaceous and most of the Cenozoic, and even occurred in marine environments around the world.
Inoceramus is an extinct genus of fossil marine pteriomorphian bivalves that superficially resembled the related winged pearly oysters of the extant genus Pteria. They lived from the Early Jurassic to latest Cretaceous.
Teviornis is a genus of extinct birds. One species has been described, T. gobiensis. It lived in the Maastrichtian stage at the end of the Late Cretaceous period, some 70 million years ago. It is known from fossils collected from the Nemegt Formation of Gobi, south Mongolia.
Spumellaria is an order of radiolarians in the class Polycystinea. They are ameboid protists appearing in abundance in the world's oceans, possessing a radially-symmetrical silica (opal) skeleton that has ensured their preservation in fossil records. They belong among the oldest Polycystine organisms, dating back to the lower Cambrian. Historically, many concentric radiolarians have been included in the Spumellaria order based on the absence of the initial spicular system, an early-develop structure that, by its lacking, sets them apart from Entactinaria despite their similar morphology. Living exemplars of the order feed by catching prey, such as copepod nauplii or tintinnids, on the adhesive ends of their pseudopodia extending radially from their skeleton; however, some have been observed as mixotrophs living in symbiosis with various photosynthetic algal organisms such as dinoflagellates, cyanobacteria, prasinophytes or haptophytes, which may cause their distribution to center in the greatest abundance and diversity within trophical waters.
Unasuchus is an extinct genus of Early Cretaceous eusuchian belonging to the family Hylaeochampsidae. The genus is named after Uña, a municipality in central Spain where fossils have been found.
Pangalliformes is the scientific name of a provisional clade of birds within the group Galloanserae. It is defined as all birds more closely related to chickens than to ducks, and includes all modern chickens, turkeys, pheasants, and megapodes, as well as extinct species that do not fall within the crown group Galliformes.
The Brachypsectridae are a family of beetles commonly known as the Texas beetles. There are only two extant genera, Brachypsectra and Asiopsectra. Brachypsectra has a cosmopolitan distribution, mostly in arid regions, while Asiopsectra is found in Central Asia and the Middle East.
Baenidae is an extinct family of paracryptodiran turtles known from the Early Cretaceous to Eocene of North America. While during the Early Cretaceous they are found across North America, during the Late Cretaceous they are only found in Laramidia, having disappeared from Appalachia. The majority of lineages survived the K-Pg Extinction, but the family was extinct by the latest Eocene. The name of the type genus, Baena, appears to be of Native American origin. They are primarily found in freshwater deposits, and are considered to be aquatic, with a largely generalist habit.
Gryphoceratops is an extinct genus of leptoceratopsid ceratopsian dinosaur known from the Late Cretaceous of Alberta, southern Canada.
Yaminuechelys is an extinct genus of chelid turtle from Argentina and the Dorotea Formation of Chile. The genus first appeared during the Late Cretaceous and became extinct during the Late Paleocene.
Tambatitanis (meaning "Tamba giant", after Tamba, the name given to the northwest of Kansai, Japan is an extinct genus of titanosauriform dinosaur from the Early Cretaceous of Japan. It is known from a single type species, Tambatitanis amicitiae, which is known from the Sasayama Group. It was probably around 15 metres long and its mass was estimated at some 4 tonnes. It was a basal titanosauriform and possibly belonged to the Euhelopodidae. The holotype was collected between 2006 and 2010.
The Cretaceous–Paleogene (K–Pg) extinction event was a sudden mass extinction of three-quarters of the plant and animal species on Earth, approximately 66 million years ago. With the exception of some ectothermic species such as sea turtles and crocodilians, no tetrapods weighing more than 25 kilograms survived. It marked the end of the Cretaceous Period, and with it the Mesozoic era, while heralding the beginning of the Cenozoic era, which continues to this day.
Azabbaremys is an extinct genus of bothremydid pleurodiran turtle that was discovered in the Teberemt Formation of Mali. It was described in 2001, based on a skull that had been recovered in an expedition in 1981. The genus consists solely of the type species Azabbaremys moragjonesi. The genus name is derived from Azabbar, a monster in Tamasheq folk stories. The species is named for Morag Jones, a research student who participated in the discovery of the specimen and died in the expedition. Azabbaremys is most closely related to another Paleocene side-necked turtle, Acleistochelys.
Turcosuchus is an extinct genus of basal eusuchian crocodyliform known from the Early Cretaceous İncigez Formation in Turkey. It contains a single species, T. okani.
References
- Early Cretaceous Pantanelliidae (Radiolaria) from Northwest Turkey. Figen A. Mekik, Micropaleontology, Vol. 46, No. 1 (Spring, 2000), pages 1–30 (Stable URL at jstor)
- Radiolaria: Siliceous Plankton through Time
