Question

The rise of the first primates occurred in ...... epoch.
A. Palaeocene
B. Oligocene
C. Miocene
D. Eocene

Answer 1

The Palaeocene is a geological era that lasted 66 to 56 million years ago. This was the first epoch of the new Cenozoic era of the Paleogene Period. The name is a combination of the Ancient Greek term palæo, representing "old" The Palaeocene is a geological era that lasted 66 to 56 million years ago. This was the first epoch of the new Cenozoic era of the Paleogene Period. The name is a combination of the Ancient Greek term palaeo, representing "old".

Complete answer: Owing to the lack of fossil evidence, the existence and early evolution of primates were shrouded in mystery. In Eurasia, they are believed to have divided from plesiadapiforms around the early Eocene or earlier. Sparse primates are the first true primates discovered so far in the fossil record. The epoch is bracketed in the planet's history by two huge events. The extinction event of K-Pg, sparked by an asteroid effect and possibly volcanism, led to the establishment of the Palaeocene and destroyed 75 percent of living creatures. A fauna and flora turnover of species was generated by the K-Pg extinction event, with previously abundant species being replaced by previously rare ones. In the Palaeocene, the Planet had a greenhouse atmosphere without permanent ice sheets at the poles, with a global surface temperature of about 24-25 degree celsius relative to 14 degree celsius in more recent times. The end of the period was marked by the thermal maximum of the Palaeocene-Eocene, a severe climate event in which approximately 2,500-4,500 gigatons of carbon were dumped into the atmosphere and ocean systems, prompting a spike in global temperatures and acidification of the ocean.

Hence, the correct answer is option (A).

Additional Information:
The International Commission on Stratigraphy structured Stratigraphy in 1969 after decades of contradictory use, based on the common opinions in Europe: the Cenozoic Era was subdivided into the Tertiary and Quaternary sub-eras, and the Tertiary has divided up again into the Palaeogene and Neogene periods. The weather of the Palaeocene was tropical or subtropical, as in the Cretaceous, and the extremes were temperate and ice-free with a global average temperature of about 24-25 degree celsius.

Note: The Palaeogene was classified explicitly as the epochs of the Palaeocene, Eocene, and Oligocene; and the Neogene as the epochs of the Miocene and Pliocene in 1978. Several economically significant coal reserves formed during the Palaeocene, including the sub-bituminous Fort Union Formation in the Wyoming and Montana Powder River Basin, which generates 43 percent of the American coal; from the later Palaeocene to the early Eocene, Tunisia established important phosphate deposits mainly of Françoise near Tunisia.