The Paleocene is a geological epoch within the Paleogene Period, spanning approximately 66 to 56 million years ago, immediately following the Cretaceous–Paleogene (K–Pg) boundary. It is defined stratigraphically by the recovery and radiation of biota after the end-Cretaceous mass extinction and is subdivided into the Danian, Selandian, and Thanetian ages. The Paleocene is characterized by globally warm greenhouse climates, the progressive diversification of mammals, birds, and angiosperms, and distinct marine microfossil assemblages used for biostratigraphic correlation. Its upper boundary is marked by significant carbon-cycle perturbations leading into the Paleocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum.
Recently-revealed notebooks belonging to a late paleontologist contain the missing information needed to help researchers finish their study of a remarkable fossil discovered nearly three decades ago.
Paleontology & Fossils
Mar 3, 2026
0
0
New minuscule fossils of Purgatorius, the earliest-known relative of all primates—including humans—have been unearthed in a more southern region of North America than ever before, and the breakthrough is providing paleontologists ...
Evolution
Mar 3, 2026
1
0
New geological data indicate that marine life is somewhat resilient to warming in the tropics. Chris Fokkema, Earth scientist at Utrecht University, discovered that tropical algae were largely unaffected by a number of periods ...
Earth Sciences
Mar 1, 2026
1
0
A new study using advanced artificial intelligence (AI) has revealed that the asteroid strike that wiped out the dinosaurs 66 million years ago caused only a modest decline in shark and ray species. The findings, published ...
Evolution
Jan 28, 2026
0
67
The climate warmed up almost as quickly 56 million years ago as it is doing now. When a huge amount of CO2 entered the atmosphere in a short period of time, it led to large-scale forest fires and erosion. Mei Nelissen, Ph.D. ...
Earth Sciences
Jan 19, 2026
2
196
To understand how global warming could influence future climate, scientists look to the Paleogene Period that began 66 million years ago, covering a time when Earth's atmospheric carbon dioxide levels were two to four times ...
Earth Sciences
Jan 9, 2026
2
114
Around 56 million years ago, Earth suddenly got much hotter. Over about 5,000 years, the amount of carbon in the atmosphere drastically increased and global temperatures shot up by some 6°C.
Ecology
Dec 1, 2025
0
47
A large proportion of the carbon dioxide emissions that are currently being released into the atmosphere by human activities are absorbed by the surface ocean, making it more acidic. As a result, the tiny organisms (plankton), ...
Earth Sciences
Oct 1, 2025
0
2
Fifty-six million years ago, during the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM), global temperatures rose by more than 5°C over 100,000 or more years. Between 3,000 and 20,000 petagrams of carbon were released into the atmosphere ...
Earth Sciences
May 15, 2025
0
29
