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Precambrian 4,600
The presence of stromatolites indicates that shallow seas covered much of Earth during intervals in this period. -
Period: to
Geological Timescale Project
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Precambrian 4,600
Nearly half of the valuable mineral deposits in the world occur in the rocks this period. -
Cambrian 542
There is vert little plant life during this period. -
Cambrian 542
Trilobites appear. -
Ordovician 488
Colonies of tiny invertebrates call graptolites flourished and vertebrates appear. Fish did not have jaws or teeth and their bodies were covered in bony plates. -
Silurian 444
Eurypterids (sea scorpions), sea stars and coral becomes more common. -
Silurian 444
Vascular plants and animals, such as scorpions begin to evolve on land. -
Devonian 416
Age of fishes, fish that can breath out of water and spend time on land form. -
Devonian 416
huge plants begin to develop, early amphibians form. -
Devonian 416
Ichthyosaurs are living in the ocean, new invertebrates call ammonite develop. -
Mississippian 359
Swamps and forests cover the land -
Mississippian 359
Shelled brachiopods appear. -
Mississippian 359
Coal deposits form -
Pennsylvanian 318
Giant cockroaches appear. -
Pennsylvanian 318
Early reptiles resembling large lizards appear. -
Permian 299
Appalachian Mountains are created because of the collision of tectonic plates. -
Permian 299
Environmental change causes mass extinction of sea invertebrates (trilobites and eurypterids) as the seas retreat. -
Jurassic 200
Flying reptiles called pterosaurs are in the air now. -
Triassic 251
Welcome to the world of the Dinosaur! Enter the squirrel sized dinosaur and the first forest dwelling mammals appear. -
Jurassic 200
Whoa those dinos are getting big and dominate the land - Lizard- hipped and bird-hipped appear - carnivores and herbivores have arrived. -
Cretaceous 146
First flowering plants appear - angiosperm. -
Cretaceous 146
Impact hypothesis - dinosaur mass extinction. -
Paleocene 65.5
First primates appear. -
Paleocene 65.5
Small rodents evolve. -
Eocene 55.8
Flying squirrels, whales, and bats appear. -
Eocene 55.8
First modern horses appear. -
Eocene 55.8
World wide temperatures drop about 4 degrees celsius (39.2 degrees fahrenheit) -
Oligocene 33.9
Himalayas develop due to uplifting caused by the Indian subcontinent and Eurasian continents colliding. -
Oligocene 33.9
Many early mammal become extinct clams and snails flourish. -
Miocene 23.0
Antarctic icecaps begin to form. -
Miocene 23.0
Mediterranean Sea dries up and refils several times due to tectonic forcesa dn dropping sea levels. -
Pliocene 5.3
Various species migrated between continents across land bridges. -
Pliocene 5.3
Species that did not evolve to survive extreme cold moved to warmer climate areas or become extinct (dire wolf and giant ground sloth) -
Pleistocene 1.8
Homosapien (modern humans) appeared and are hunters. -
Pleistocene 1.8
Modern human developed agriculture and used tools made of iron and bronze. -
Holocene 0.0115
The last glacial period ended and sea levels rose, Great lakes formed. -
Anthropocene current date
There is an argument as to when this epoch began, some scientists think it began with the industrial age in the early 1800s other think it began with the atomic age in the 1950s. -
Anthropocene current date
Some scientist believe that human kind has caused mass extinctions of plant and animal species, polluted the oceans and altered the atmosphere.
