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Learn about life through time... Tertiary

The Tertiary period saw dramatic changes in the arrangement of the earth's landmasses. India moved northwards and collided with the Eurasian plate, pushing up the Himalayas. The shape of Europe also changed greatly.

At the beginning of the period, mammals began to become more prevalent than reptiles for the first time, due to the extinction at the end of the Cretaceous. The mammals continued to develop throughout, beginning to eat newly evolved grasses instead of trees, and diversifying into many of the groups we recognize today.

Towards the end of this period the human form began to emerge, and Australopithecus evolved.

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