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Timeline of Geologic History
("mya" is Million Years Ago; "bya" is Billion Years Ago)
| Eon | Era | Period | Epoch | Events | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Phanerozoic Eon 540 mya - now Visiable Life |
Cenozoic Era 65 - now mya Age of Mammals |
Quaternary Period 1.8 mya - now Age of Man |
Holocene Epoch 11,000 years ago to today | Human Activity | |
| Pleistocene Epoch 1.8 mya to 11,000 years ago | The last Ice Age | ||||
| Tertiary Period 65 to 1.8 mya - 1.8 mya |
Neogene 24-1.8 mya |
Pliocene Epoch 5-1.8 mya | australopithecines | ||
| Miocene Epoch 24-5 mya | horses, dogs, modern birds | ||||
| Paleogene 65 - 24 mya |
Oligocene Epoch 38-24 mya | pigs, dear, cats | |||
| Eocene Epoch 55-38 mya | rise of mammals | ||||
| Paleocene Epoch 65-53 mya | big mammals appear | ||||
| Mesozoic Era 248-65 mya Age of Reptiles |
Cretaceous Period 146-65 mya |
Upper 98-65 mya | Primitive marsupials appear, ends with huge K-T extinction of dinosaurs | ||
| Lower 146-98 mya | snakes, ants, bees, dinosaurs ruling earth | ||||
| Jurassic Period 208-146 mya |
Giant plant eating Sauropods, flowering plants bloom | ||||
| Triassic Period 248-208 mya |
The rise of the dinosaurs, first mammals, many reptiles like turtles. Ends with extinctions in 213 mya of 35% of all animals families including most marine reptiles. | ||||
| Paleozoic Era 540-248 mya |
Permian Period 280-248 mya Age of Amphibians |
One supercontinent is formed named Pangaea. Phytoplankton and plants pollute the air with oxygen. Ends with mass extinction - 50% of animal families, 95% of marine species. | |||
| Carboniferous Period 360-280 mya coal swamps, corals, Amphibians more numerous |
Pennsylvanian Period 325-280 mya | First reptiles and cockroaches appear. | |||
| Mississippian Period 360-325 mya | First winged insects. | ||||
| Devonian Period 408-360 mya Age of Fishes |
First amphibians, sharks, bony fish. New insects appear. Mass extinction in 345 mya kills 30% of animal families | ||||
| Silurian Period 438-408 mya |
First jawed fish. First vascular plants. | ||||
| Ordovician Period 505-439 mya |
First primitive land plants, corals, primitive fish, fungi. | ||||
| Cambrian Period 540-500 mya Age of Trilobites |
Cambrian explosion of life. First vertiebrates, first fish. Supercontinent of Rodinia starts to break apart. Mass extinction of 50% of animal families. | ||||
| Proterozoic Eon 2.5 bya - 540 mya |
Vendian/Ediacaran Period 600-640 mya | First multi-celled animals. Continents merge into first supercontinent, Rodinia. Mass extinction. | |||
| Archeozoic Eon 3.9-2.5 bya |
First single celled life forms appear, blue-green algae and bacteria live in the sea. | ||||
| Hadean Eon 4.6 - 3.9 bya |
Earth is forming. | ||||
Extension Intensities, notice time periods often start after massive extinctions.
