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 Jurassic is a geologic period and stratigraphic system that spanned from the end of the Triassic Period 201.4 million years ago (Mya) to the beginning of the Cretaceous Period, approximately 145 Mya. The Jurassic constitutes the middle period of the Mesozoic Era and is named after the Jura Mountains, where limestone strata from the period were first identified.
In the geological timescale, the Tithonian is the latest age of the Late Jurassic Epoch and the uppermost stage of the Upper Jurassic Series. It spans the time between 149.2 ±0.7 Ma and 145.0 ± 4 Ma. It is preceded by the Kimmeridgian and followed by the Berriasian.
Caturus is an extinct genus of predatory marine fishes in the family Caturidae in the order Amiiformes, related to modern bowfin. It has been suggested that the genus is non-monophyletic with respect to other caturid genera.
In the geological timescale, the Berriasian is an age/stage of the Early/Lower Cretaceous. It is the oldest subdivision in the entire Cretaceous. It has been taken to span the time between 145.0 ± 4.0 Ma and 139.8 ± 3.0 Ma. The Berriasian succeeds the Tithonian and precedes the Valanginian.
Pelecinidae is a family of parasitic wasps in the superfamily Proctotrupoidea. It contains only one living genus, Pelecinus, with three species known from the Americas. The earliest fossil species are known from the Jurassic, and the group was highly diverse during the Cretaceous. Members of Pelecinus are parasitic on larval beetles, flies, green lacewings, and sawflies.
Zapatoca is a town and municipality in the Santander Department in northeastern Colombia. It is at a high altitude and is a common stop between Bucaramanga and San Gil. It was built in the early 17th century by the Spanish conquistadores.
The Lourinhã Formation is a fossil rich geological formation in western Portugal, named for the municipality of Lourinhã. The formation is mostly Late Jurassic in age (Kimmeridgian/Tithonian), with the top of the formation extending into the earliest Cretaceous (Berriasian). It is notable for containing a fauna especially similar to that of the Morrison Formation in the United States and a lesser extent to the Tendaguru Formation in Tanzania. There are also similarities to the nearby Villar del Arzobispo Formation and Alcobaça Formation. The stratigraphy of the formation and the basin in general is complex and controversial, with the constituent member beds belonging to the formation varying between different authors.
Hibolithes is a genus of belemnite that lived from the Middle Jurassic to the Early Cretaceous, and has been found in Antarctica, Greenland, Iran, Europe, South America, and New Zealand. In 2020, this genus was found in the Pedawan Formation in Sarawak, on the island of Borneo (Malaysia).
Notoemys is an extinct genus of platychelyid turtle known from the Late Jurassic and Early Cretaceous of the Americas.
Neuquén Basin is a sedimentary basin covering most of Neuquén Province in Argentina. The basin originated in the Jurassic and developed through alternating continental and marine conditions well into the Tertiary. The basin bounds to the west with the Andean Volcanic Belt, to the southeast with the North Patagonian Massif and to the northeast with the San Rafael Block and to the east with the Sierra Pintada System. The basin covers an area of approximately 120,000 square kilometres (46,000 sq mi). One age of the SALMA classification, the Colloncuran, is defined in the basin, based on the Collón Curá Formation, named after the Collón Curá River, a tributary of the Limay River.
The Vaca Muerta Formation, commonly known as Vaca Muerta, is a geologic formation of Late Jurassic to Early Cretaceous age, located in the Neuquén Basin in northern Patagonia, Argentina. It is well known as the host rock for major deposits of shale oil and shale gas.
Pygope is an extinct genus of brachiopods belonging to the family Pygopidae. These brachiopods lived in open sea from the Jurassic Period, Kimmeridgian age up to Cretaceous Period, Barremian age. Some of the species are characterised by a smaller or larger perforation through the entire shell in older specimens, while others just have a depression somewhere on the midline. Younger specimens of the perforated species develop a heart-shape and subsequently both extensions merge, thus encircling a central passage which is in fact entirely outside the shell.
The La Caja Formation is a geologic formation in Mexico. It preserves fossils dating from the Kimmeridgian to the lower Berriasian. La Caja Formation is widespread in northeastern and central Mexico and known for their abundant and diverse well-preserved ammonites. It was deposited in hemipelagic conditions, and predominantly consists of siliclastic sediments, including marl, with limestone. It is laterally equivalent to the La Casita Formation, which represent more proximal facies. The ichthyosaurs Ophthalmosaurus icenicus and Parrassaurus yacahuitztli, metriorhynchid Cricosaurus saltillensis and the giant pliosaur "Monster of Aramberri" are known from the formation.
The Artemisa Formation is a geologic formation in western Cuba. It preserves mainly ammonite fossils dating back to the Late Oxfordian to Tithonian period. The formation is divided into two members; La Zarza and Sumidero Members. Most of the formation was deposited in deeper marine conditions.
Paracestracion is an extinct genus of heterodontiform sharks from Early Jurassic to Early Cretaceous-aged rocks of England, France, Germany and Luxembourg. The genus was first described in 1911 by Ernst Hermann Friedrich von Koken in Karl Alfred von Zittel.
The Agrio Formation is an Early Cretaceous geologic formation that is up to 1,500 metres (4,900 ft) thick and is located in the southern Mendoza Province and northern-central Neuquén Province, in the Neuquén Basin of northwestern Patagonia, Argentina. This formation is the youngest one of the Mendoza Group, overlying the Mulichinco and Bajada Colorada Formations and overlain by the Huitrín and La Amarga Formations. It is dated to the Late Valanginian to Early Hauterivian, Late Valanginian to Early Barremian, or Hauterivian to earliest Aptian.
Pseudorhina is an extinct genus of squatiniform shark closely related to modern angelsharks. Fossils are known from the Late Jurassic and Early Cretaceous of Europe.
Platychelyidae is an extinct family of pan-pleurodiran turtles, known from the Late Jurassic and Early Cretaceous of Europe, South America, North America, and the Caribbean. It represents the oldest known clade of stem-pleurodires. All known members have been found in marine or coastal deposits. Despite this, their limb morphology suggests that they were not adapted for open marine conditions, but were likely inhabitants of shallow water environments, including brackish and saline waters, and they likely never inhabited environments more marine than lagoons. Their tolerance for saline environments likely aided their dispersal during the breakup of Pangea. Unlike modern pleurodires, which retract their necks to the sides, Platychelys retracted its neck inwards, similar to modern cryptodire turtles. Platychelys is strongly morphologically similar to mata mata and snapping turtles, suggesting that it had a similar ecology as a ram or suction feeder.
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