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The final period of the Mesozoic era between about 136 and 65 million years ago during which much of the present-day land surface was covered by shallow seas. Cretaceous rocks largely consist of chalk formed from fossilized calcareous plates (coccoliths) of marine plankton. It is thought that forms similar to present-day members of the Filicales probably evolved towards the end of the period. The Bennettitales and Caytoniales (both gymnosperm orders) died out and the gymnosperms generally declined in importance, although forms similar to modern species, such as pines, yews, firs, and giant redwoods, arose. Most significant was the emergence of the angiosperms, which became the dominant vegetation, forming large areas of broad-leaved forest.
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