The Cretaceous period, which lasted from 145 to 66 million years ago, was a time of great biological diversity and change. Many of the modern groups of animals and plants evolved during this time, including turtles and crocodiles.
Some of the living things that happened in the Cretaceous period include:
The extinction of the dinosaurs, which occurred at the end of the period.
The rise of mammals, which became the dominant land animals after the extinction of the dinosaurs.
The evolution of flowering plants, which became the dominant plants on land.
The appearance of birds, which evolved from small, feathered dinosaurs.
The evolution of placental mammals, which gave birth to live young.
The evolution of snakes, which evolved from lizards.
The evolution of turtles and crocodiles, which both appeared in the Late Cretaceous period.
Turtles and crocodiles are both reptiles, and they are both members of the group Archosauria, which also includes dinosaurs, birds, and pterosaurs. Turtles and crocodiles are the only two surviving members of Archosauria.
Did turtles and crocodiles become extinct?
No, turtles and crocodiles did not become extinct. They both survived the extinction event that wiped out the dinosaurs at the end of the Cretaceous period. Turtles and crocodiles have continued to thrive and diversify since then, and they are both still common today.