Cretaceous-Tertiary extinction event

The Cretaceous-Tertiary (K-T or KT) extinction event, also known as the KT boundary, was a period of massive extinction of species, about 65.5 million years ago. It corresponds to the end of the Cretaceous Period and the beginning of the Tertiary Period. (K is the traditional abbreviation for the Cretaceous period. Cretaceous comes from the Latin for chalk, creta. The K comes from the German word for chalk kreide, or possible Greek kreta. The K is used so as to avoid confusion with the Carboniferous period which uses the letter C.)

Other mass extinctions

It is worth noting that the Cretaceous extinction is neither the only mass extinction in Earth's history, nor even the worst. Previous extinction events have included the Triassic-Jurassic extinction event and the Permian-Triassic extinction event, which is the largest extinction event ever recorded.

Related Topics:
Extinction event - Triassic-Jurassic extinction event - Permian-Triassic extinction event

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