Geology

Large "island continents" were still the norm during the Eocene, but they were breaking up and shifting towards their present positions. Such breakups included South America with North America or Australia with Antarctica. This left those continents isolation and made for "strange" evolution among organisms. One such example is the Glyptodon.

The climate in this epoch was relatively warm worldwide, causing a lot of lush swamps and jungles.

Animal Life

Life in the oceans was abundant with new types of wildlife: new fish, crabs, crayfish and the recently evolved whale. Whales probably found their home in the water during this epoch, evolving from hoofed carnivores. They were perfectly adapted to their new liquid surroundings: They had streamlined bodies, large front flippers for propulsion, and powerful horizontal tails. Whales took advantage of another food source that had just recently sprung up - plankton.

Land also exploded in new life forms. Penguins, ducks, herons, pelicans and gulls were some of the birds that came, but there were others, such as the terrifying Diatryma. Insect newcomers were ants and bees, and poisonous snakes would have put you on the lookout for the first time. Mammals sprang up like crazy: the first bats, bears, tapirs, rhinoceroses, moles, cats, dogs, voles, camels, and rabbits all came into existance. Horses and elephants appeared in this epoch.

Plant Life

The only new plants that are to report for this epoch are phytoplankton. This microscopic floating alga uses the sun's light to photosynthesize (turning the energy from the sun into "food"). This plankton was fed on by zooplankton (tiny plankton animals), which were then fed on by the emerging whales.