Early Cretaceous

E695020

The Early Cretaceous was a geological period roughly 145 to 100 million years ago marked by diverse dinosaur faunas, the rise of flowering plants, and significant continental breakup and climate change.

All labels observed (5)

How this entity was disambiguated

Statements (69)

Predicate Object
instanceOf geological period ⓘ
subdivision of the Cretaceous ⓘ
biota abundant marine reptiles ⓘ
diverse invertebrate reef communities ⓘ
dominance of gymnosperms in many floras ⓘ
early mosasauroid lizards ⓘ
first widespread angiosperm-dominated ecosystems ⓘ
ichthyosaurs ⓘ
plesiosaurs ⓘ
pterosaurs ⓘ
characterizedBy active seafloor spreading ⓘ
diverse dinosaur faunas ⓘ
high sea levels ⓘ
intense volcanic activity ⓘ
oceanic anoxic events ⓘ
rise of flowering plants ⓘ
significant continental breakup ⓘ
warm global climate ⓘ
widespread shallow epicontinental seas ⓘ
climate generally greenhouse conditions ⓘ
little to no polar ice ⓘ
strong latitudinal temperature gradients ⓘ
containsStage Albian ⓘ
Aptian ⓘ
Barremian ⓘ
Berriasian ⓘ
Hauterivian ⓘ
Valanginian ⓘ
definedBy International Commission on Stratigraphy ⓘ
endBoundary Early–Late Cretaceous boundary ⓘ
endTime approximately 100.5 million years ago ⓘ
follows Late Jurassic ⓘ
hasAbbreviation Early Cretaceous Series ⓘ
linked to: Early Cretaceous

Lower Cretaceous ⓘ
includesFamousTaxa Archaeopteryx-like early birds ⓘ
Baryonyx ⓘ
Confuciusornis ⓘ
Deinonychus ⓘ
Iguanodon ⓘ
Microraptor ⓘ
Psittacosaurus ⓘ
Sauropelta ⓘ
Spinosaurus ⓘ
Utahraptor ⓘ
paleogeography continued rifting of Gondwana ⓘ
development of narrow proto-Atlantic Ocean ⓘ
opening of the South Atlantic Ocean ⓘ
progressive breakup of Pangaea ⓘ
separation of Africa and South America ⓘ
partOf Cretaceous ⓘ
Mesozoic Era ⓘ
Phanerozoic Eon ⓘ
precedes Late Cretaceous ⓘ
sawDiversificationOf ammonites ⓘ
angiosperms ⓘ
ankylosaurian dinosaurs ⓘ
belemnites ⓘ
birds ⓘ
ceratopsian dinosaurs ⓘ
iguanodontian ornithopods ⓘ
mammals ⓘ
sauropod dinosaurs ⓘ
spinosaurid theropods ⓘ
teleost fishes ⓘ
startBoundary Cretaceous–Jurassic boundary ⓘ
startTime approximately 145 million years ago ⓘ
stratigraphicUse correlates with Lower Cretaceous Series ⓘ
linked to: Early Cretaceous

used as a chronostratigraphic unit in geology ⓘ
temporalRange 145–100.5 Ma ⓘ

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (27)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Iguanodon fossils → geologicalPeriod → Early Cretaceous ⓘ
Ontong Java Plateau → geologicalAge → Early Cretaceous ⓘ
Eomaia → geologicalAge → Barremian–Aptian ⓘ
linked to: Early Cretaceous
Paluxy River → hasFossilAge → Early Cretaceous ⓘ
Cloverly Formation → geologicPeriod → Early Cretaceous ⓘ
Iguanodon → temporalRange → Early Cretaceous ⓘ
Tendaguru Formation → geologicPeriod → Early Cretaceous ⓘ
Anthophila → firstAppearance → Early Cretaceous ⓘ
Vaca Muerta shale formation → geologicalAge → Early Cretaceous ⓘ
Bargate stone → geologicalPeriod → Lower Cretaceous ⓘ
linked to: Early Cretaceous
Deinonychus → geologicalPeriod → Early Cretaceous ⓘ
Mont Saint-Bruno → geologicalAge → Early Cretaceous ⓘ
Mont Brome → geologicalAge → Early Cretaceous ⓘ
Early Cretaceous → stratigraphicUse → correlates with Lower Cretaceous Series ⓘ
linked to: Early Cretaceous
Early Cretaceous → hasAbbreviation → Early Cretaceous Series ⓘ
linked to: Early Cretaceous
Wealden Group → geologicAge → Lower Cretaceous ⓘ
linked to: Early Cretaceous
Wealden Supergroup → geologicTimePeriod → Early Cretaceous ⓘ
Wessex Formation → geologicalPeriod → Early Cretaceous ⓘ
Yixian Formation → geologicalPeriod → Early Cretaceous ⓘ
Hylaeosaurus → geologicalPeriod → Early Cretaceous ⓘ
Weald Clay → geologicPeriod → Early Cretaceous ⓘ
Glen Rose Formation → geologicPeriod → Early Cretaceous ⓘ
Cloverly Formation → geologicPeriod → Early Cretaceous ⓘ
subject linked to: Cloverly, Wyoming
Diplodocinae → livedInPeriod → Early Cretaceous ⓘ