The Early Cretaceous (geochronological name) or the Lower Cretaceous (chronostratigraphic name), is the earlier or lower of the two major divisions of the Cretaceous. It is usually considered to stretch from 146 Ma to 100 Ma.
During this time many new types of dinosaurs appeared or came into prominence, including Psittacosaurus, spinosaurids and coelurosaurs, while other survivors from the Late Jurassic continued.
In the seas, the ichthyosaurs declined and eventually died out at the start of the Late Cretaceous. Angiosperms appear for the first time.
Famous quotes containing the word early:
“Long before I wrote stories, I listened for stories. Listening for them is something more acute than listening to them. I suppose it’s an early form of participation in what goes on. Listening children know stories are there. When their elders sit and begin, children are just waiting and hoping for one to come out, like a mouse from its hole.”
—Eudora Welty (b. 1909)