Q59 / 200 · MHT CET - Medical 2026 (22 April Shift 2) · Biology
Which of the following epochs marks the major radiation of modern birds?
- Correct answerAPalaeocene
- BEocene
- COligocene
- DMiocene
Solution
The question asks for the epoch that marks the major radiation of modern birds.
The extinction of non-avian dinosaurs at the end of the Cretaceous period (Mesozoic era) left many ecological niches vacant. In the subsequent Cenozoic era, modern birds (Neornithes) underwent a rapid and massive evolutionary radiation to fill these niches.
The Palaeocene epoch (the first epoch of the Cenozoic era) is widely recognized in evolutionary biology and paleontology as the time when the major adaptive radiation of modern birds occurred, leading to the establishment of most of the major lineages of birds we see today.
Answer: Palaeocene
The extinction of non-avian dinosaurs at the end of the Cretaceous period (Mesozoic era) left many ecological niches vacant. In the subsequent Cenozoic era, modern birds (Neornithes) underwent a rapid and massive evolutionary radiation to fill these niches.
The Palaeocene epoch (the first epoch of the Cenozoic era) is widely recognized in evolutionary biology and paleontology as the time when the major adaptive radiation of modern birds occurred, leading to the establishment of most of the major lineages of birds we see today.
Answer: Palaeocene
Hence, the correct answer is option: 'A'.