The Cenozoic Era, which is often described as the “Age of Mammals,” began 65 million years ago. Following the disappearance of the dinosaurs, mammals proliferated in number, size, and diversity. The Cenozoic is generally divided into seven epochs: Paleocene, Eocene, Oligocene, Miocene, Pleistocene, and Holocene.
Shown below are the Cenozoic displays in the Raymond M. Alf Museum of Paleontology on the campus of the The Webb Schools, a private residential high school, in Claremont, California.
According to the Museum display:
“Mammals and birds will steal the limelight from the dinosaurs of the Mesozoic. Numerous mountain ranges will emerge, including the Rocky Mountains and Himalayas. Grasses and other flowering plants will flourish. And, the earliest modern humans will evolve during the time known as the Ice Ages.”
According to the Museum display:
“The great patchy forests of North America gave way to vast grasslands during the Miocene. This is reflected in two types of horses found at Barstow. One was very abundant. It had high-crowned teeth and fed mainly on grass. The other type of horse had low-crowned teeth and fed mainly on brush (browser). Browsing horses at Barstow soon became extinct, while the grazing types flourished.”