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Phenomena

Cretaceous-Paleogene Extinction Event

Stratigraphy

Also known as the K-Pg extinction, a mass extinction of three quarters or more of Earth's plant and animal species occurring about 66 million years ago at the boundary between the Cretaceous and Paleogene periods. It is primarily attributed to the impact of a large asteroid that formed the Chicxulub crater on the Yucatan Peninsula, which devastated the global environment through a lingering impact winter that halted photosynthesis in plants and plankton. The extinction ended the age of the non-avian dinosaurs and closed the Mesozoic era, opening ecological space that allowed mammals and birds to diversify through the following Cenozoic. This description is adapted from Wikipedia contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0; changes were made. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

Facts
Magnitude or Scale
75 percent or more of all plant and animal species became extinct, including all non-avian dinosaurs. 1
Location
Global, with the Chicxulub impact crater on Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula identified as the primary cause. 1
Connections

Associated With

Cretaceous, Eras
Source Cretaceous-Paleogene Extinction Event (Wikipedia)
Paleogene, Eras
Source Cretaceous-Paleogene Extinction Event (Wikipedia)

Caused By

Chicxulub Impact, Phenomena
Source Cretaceous-Paleogene Extinction Event (Wikipedia)

In Discipline

Stratigraphy, Disciplines
In the Other Atlases

Found In

Mexico

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.

Sources
1. Cretaceous-Paleogene Extinction Event (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia Foundation
  • Lead section
    A major mass extinction of three-quarters (75%) of the plant and animal species on Earth which occurred around 66 million years ago.
  • Extinction magnitude section
    A major mass extinction of three-quarters (75%) of the plant and animal species on Earth which occurred around 66 million years ago.
  • Geography section
    A major mass extinction of three-quarters (75%) of the plant and animal species on Earth which occurred around 66 million years ago.
  • Associated With: Cretaceous
  • Associated With: Paleogene
  • In Group: Mass Extinction Events, Lead sentence
    The Cretaceous-Paleogene (K-Pg) extinction event, formerly known as the Cretaceous-Tertiary (K-T) extinction event, was a major mass extinction of three-quarters (75%) of the plant and animal species on Earth which occurred around 66 million years ago.
View the Source
Wikidata: Cretaceous-Paleogene Extinction Event
Wikidata Q55811, class allow-list match (w-wdresolver-0926)View the Source
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