cretaceous

Everyday

1. (science) The Cretaceous is the last period of the age of dinosaurs, from about 145 to 66 million years ago. tree →
2. (science) Cretaceous (small c) means made of chalk or like chalk. tree →

In the lessons

In science lessons about dinosaurs and fossils: Tyrannosaurus rex and Triceratops lived in the Cretaceous; it ended when a huge asteroid hit the Earth and most dinosaurs died out. The period is named after chalk (Latin «creta»), because chalk rocks like the White Cliffs of Dover formed then. Phrases: «the Cretaceous period», «Late Cretaceous».

Examples

• Tyrannosaurus rex lived in the Late Cretaceous period. tree →
• The Cretaceous ended about 66 million years ago. tree →
• An asteroid strike at the end of the Cretaceous wiped out most dinosaurs. tree →
• The White Cliffs of Dover are made of Cretaceous chalk. tree →
• The first flowering plants spread during the Cretaceous. tree →
• We found a Cretaceous fossil shell on the beach. tree →

Note

Pronounced «krih-TAY-shus». Order of dinosaur periods: Triassic, Jurassic, Cretaceous. Myth: dinosaurs did not all live at the same time — T. rex lived closer in time to us than to Stegosaurus (a Jurassic dinosaur).