The Cenozoic Era began 65 mya and has not ended yet. we are living in the Cenozoic Era right this second. The nickname for the Cenozoic Era is “The Age of Mammals”. Cenozoic was originally spelled Kainozoic because kaino means new and zoic means life so Kainozoic means “New Life”. The Cenozoic Era includes the Paleogene (65-23 mya), Neogene (23-2.6 mya), and Quarternary (2.6 mya-present) Periods. Early on in the Cenozoic Era it was much warmer than it is now. Each period in the Cenozoic Era had a unique climate. The Paleogene Period was mostly tropical while the Neogene and Quarternary periods faced drastic cooling. The most significant global warming was during the Paleocene and Eocene epochs, 55.8 mya. This global warming was followed by a long dry period. The continents at the beginning of the Cenozoic Era were similar in shape and location to how they are now because Pangea had broken up by the Cenozoic Era. The Atlantic rift between South America and africa widened forcing the continents to move closer and closer to their current positions. During the Pleistocene Epoch central North America was covered with glaciers, when these glaciers melted they formed the Great Lakes. During the Cenozoic Era tectonic plates continued to collide and during the Cenozoic Era formed the Alps, Himalayas, and Rocky Mountains. 50 mya the first whales appeared, 25 mya the first grasses and apes appeared, 16 mya the first orangutans appeared, 5.2 mya the first known hominids appeared, 0.6 mya the earliest humans appeared and 0.1 mya modern humans appeared! All these mammal’s evolution are the reason why the Cenozoic Era is nicknamed “The Age of Mammals”.
These are orangutans.
This was the shape and location of the continents 35 mya.
This is the continents during the Cenozoic Era, very similar to how they are shaped now, except for Asia and India.