cretaceous

[ kri-tey-shuhs ]

adjective

1. resembling or containing chalk.
2. (initial capital letter) Geology. noting or pertaining to a period of the Mesozoic Era, from 140 million to 65 million years ago, characterized by the greatest development and subsequent extinction of dinosaurs and the advent of flowering plants and modern insects.

noun

1. (initial capital letter) Geology. the Cretaceous Period or System.

Cretaceous

¹

/ krɪˈteɪʃəs /

adjective

1. of, denoting, or formed in the last period of the Mesozoic era, between the Jurassic and Tertiary periods, lasting 80 million years during which chalk deposits were formed and flowering plants first appeared

noun

1. the Cretaceous
   the Cretaceous period or rock system

cretaceous

²

/ krɪˈteɪʃəs /

adjective

1. consisting of or resembling chalk

Cretaceous

/ krĭ-tā′shəs /

1. The third and last period of the Mesozoic Era, from about 144 to 65 million years ago. During this time the supercontinent Pangaea continued to split up, with modern-day South America and Africa splitting apart, the Atlantic Ocean widening, and India disconnecting itself entirely from the other landmasses to which it was attached. Dinosaurs continued to be the dominant terrestrial animals, but many insect groups, modern mammals and birds, and the angiosperms (flowering plants) also first appeared. The Cretaceous Period ended with a mass extinction event in which about 75 percent of all species, including marine, freshwater, and terrestrial organisms, became extinct.
2. See Chart at geologic time

Derived Forms

• creˈtaceously, adverb

Other Words From

• cre·taceous·ly adverb
• noncre·taceous adjective
• postcre·taceous adjective
• super·cre·taceous adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of cretaceous¹

1665–70; < Latin crētāceus, equivalent to crēt ( a ) chalk, clay ( crayon ) + -āceus -aceous; the geological period was defined from the chalk beds of SE England and associated formations

Word History and Origins

Origin of cretaceous¹

C17: from Latin crētāceus, from crēta, literally: Cretan earth, that is, chalk

Example Sentences

But they say the smaller rock also came at the end of the Cretaceous period when they went extinct.

From BBC

In the Late Cretaceous period, a remarkable flowering of horned dinosaurs occurred along the coastal floodplains of western North America.

From New York Times

Not all experts are convinced this means Cretaceous ants, too, chatted via pheromones.

From Science Magazine

Oxygen levels near the bottom during the Cretaceous period likely dropped as the heat increased.

From Science Daily

The study, recently published in Nature Communications, revealed that ferns and flowering plants independently evolved nectaries, specialized structures that secrete sugary rewards to attract ant bodyguards, around the same time in the Cretaceous period.

From Science Daily