Oligocene

High school (ages 12+)
History & Culture

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/oligocene

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the geologic epoch?Oligocene, the final epoch of the Paleogene Period
2. What is the dominant paleogeographic shift?Global expansion of grasslands and regression of tropical broad-leaf forests
3. Why did grasslands spread during the Oligocene?During the Oligocene, the world cooled and forests shrank, so open grasslands grew everywhere. This gave animals new places to live and eat, helping them evolve special teeth and running skills.
4. What happened to European animals when the Oligocene started?At the start of the Oligocene, a big extinction called the Grande Coupure happened. Many native European animals were replaced by species that came from Asia.

Paleogene Period: An era in Earth's history, following the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event and preceding the Neogene Period.
Faunal Turnover: A significant change in the species composition of an animal community over time, often due to environmental shifts or extinctions.
Hypsodonty: A dental adaptation characterized by high-crowned teeth, typically evolved for processing abrasive vegetation like grasses.
Biotic Reorganization: A substantial restructuring of an ecosystem's biological components, including species composition, abundance, and interactions.