Paleocene

[ pey-lee-uh-seen or, especially British, pal-ee- ]

/ ˈpeɪ li əˌsin or, especially British, ˈpæl i- /

Geology

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adjective

noting or pertaining to an epoch of the Tertiary Period, from 65 to 55 million years ago, and characterized by a proliferation of mammals.

noun

the Paleocene Epoch or Series.

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Origin of Paleocene

First recorded in 1875–80; paleo- + -cene

Words nearby Paleocene

Paleo-Asiatic, paleobiochemistry, paleobiogeography, paleobiology, paleobotany, Paleocene, paleoclimate, paleoclimatology, paleoconservative, paleocortex, paleoecology

How to use Paleocene in a sentence

Paleontologists and geologists suspect that some amount of natural warming that took place during the Paleocene, or the period following the die-off, caused great deposits of crystallized methane to transform into gas.
An ancient era of global warming could hint at our scorching future|Rachel Feltman|August 16, 2021|Popular-Science
The Oligocene division has been generally accepted as a distinct period, but “Paleocene” is not so widely used.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 9, Slice 6|Various
This collection was obviously of Torrejonian or middle Paleocene age.
Preliminary Survey of a Paleocene Faunule from the Angels Peak Area, New Mexico|Robert W. Wilson
The mammalian faunas of the Paleocene of central Utah, with notes on the geology.
Preliminary Survey of a Paleocene Faunule from the Angels Peak Area, New Mexico|Robert W. Wilson

Perhaps, this high ratio reflects the imperfectly carnivorous habits of the Paleocene creodonts as a group.
Preliminary Survey of a Paleocene Faunule from the Angels Peak Area, New Mexico|Robert W. Wilson

Scientific definitions for Paleocene

Paleocene

[ pā′lē-ə-sēn′ ]

The earliest epoch of the Tertiary Period, from about 65 to 58 million years ago. During this time, the Rocky Mountains formed and sea levels dropped, exposing dry land in North America, Australia, and Africa. Many new types of small mammals evolved and filled the niches left empty after the extinctions that ended the Cretaceous Period. Soft-bodied squid replaced the ammonites as the dominant form of mollusk. See Chart at geologic time.