Period · Mesozoic
Cretaceous
143–66 Ma
The Cretaceous is a period within the Mesozoic, spanning roughly 143 to 66 million years ago. Closes with the K–Pg extinction; Hell Creek dinosaurs, Niobrara mosasaurs, Moroccan phosphate sharks and Kem Kem material are all Cretaceous.
| Rank | period· Paleobiology Database |
|---|---|
| Base | 143 Ma· Paleobiology Database |
| Top | 66 Ma· Paleobiology Database |
| Duration | 77.1 Myr· Paleobiology Database |
| Chart | ICS International Chronostratigraphic Chart v2023/09 (ages from Macrostrat/PBDB interval tables) |
Elsewhere
Cite this article
Stratum Strata. "Cretaceous" (Time interval). Stratum Strata pack 2026.09, as of 2026-09-21. https://stratum.black/strata/time/cretaceous. Accessed 2026-09-21.
@misc{stratum-cretaceous,
title = {Cretaceous},
author = {{Stratum Strata}},
howpublished = {\url{https://stratum.black/strata/time/cretaceous}},
year = {2026},
note = {Time interval article, Stratum Strata pack 2026.09, as of 2026-09-21; sources: stratum, pbdb. Accessed 2026-09-21.}
} Citations carry the pack version and the article's as-of date so they resolve to the same text later. The facts themselves belong to the sources listed below; cite those for the science.