The name Cretaceous comes from the Latin 'creta' which means chalk. It's named for the large quantities of chalk rock laid down at this time in Western Europe. The UK's famous White Cliffs of Dover ...

This is how most of the chalk we use today was first formed. So much so, that 'Cretaceous' comes from the Latin word for chalk, 'creta'. Do you have a burning question about science or nature you want ...

If they had vanished, the Cretaceous would have a different name, since such shells are the main ingredient of chalk. Synapsids, of which mammals are the last representatives, came then as now in ...