rockminx-10-4-2

Abstract/Description: Eocene. In 1833, Charles Lyell derived the name Eocene from the Greek words Eos (meaning "dawn") and Kainos (meaning "recent"). At the time, the Paleocene had not yet been named, so the Eocene became the "dawn of the recent" (Cenozoic Era). Lyell chose this term because only about 3.5% of fossil mollusks from sediments of this age were recent species.
Subject(s): Wyoming, United States
environmental sciences