With the epoch before it, this epoch names a thermal maximum that raised temperatures 5-8Â°C.
A proliferation of Azolla ferns in the Arctic Ocean during this time period may have served as a massive carbon sink, drastically lowering worldwide temperatures. The anomalous Andrewsarchus lived during this time period and may be related to the Entelodonts, or "hell pigs", that first appeared during this epoch. The Wadi el Hitan in Egypt is famous for its marine-deposited rocks dating to this time period, which contain some of the earliest whales. Asteroid impacts at Popigai in Siberia and the Chesapeake Bay may have initiated the (*) mass extinction that ended this epoch. India began colliding with Asia during this epoch, closing the Tethys Sea. With the epoch before it, this epoch names a thermal maximum that raised temperatures 5-8Â°C. For 10 points, name this epoch, the second of the Paleogene period with a name referring to the "dawn" of many new mammalian orders.
A proliferation of Azolla ferns in the Arctic Ocean during this time period may have served as a massive carbon sink, drastically lowering worldwide temperatures.
Eocene Epoch