Geological Timeline

By Meng Ting
  • 541 BCE

    First fishes and chordates

    First fishes and chordates
    Cambrian, Palaeozoic Era
  • 541 BCE

    Invertebrates become common

    Invertebrates become common
    Marine life diversifies enormously
  • Period: 541 BCE to 252 BCE

    Palaeozoic Era

    "Age of invertebrates”
    -Its duration was approximately 290 million years
    -The Permian extinction, at the end of the Paleozoic Era, eliminated quite a few groups of invertebrates. Extinction rates were much lower among vertebrates, both aquatic and terrestrial, and among plants. Causes of this extinction event remain unclear.
  • Period: 541 BCE to 485 BCE

    Cambrian

    -Many marine invertebrates with external skeletons (arthropods)
    -Geological evolution: Rodinia breaks up
  • 485 BCE

    Sudden diversification of metazon families

    Sudden diversification of metazon families
    Ordovician, Palaeozoic Era
  • Period: 485 BCE to 444 BCE

    Ordovician

    -Widespread marine algae
    -Fish without jaws
  • 444 BCE

    First vascular land plants

    First vascular land plants
    Silurian, Palaeozoic Era
  • 444 BCE

    First great extinction

  • Period: 444 BCE to 419 BCE

    Silurian

    -First land plants
    -Geological evolution: Caledonian orogeny
  • 419 BCE

    First amphibians and jawed fishes diversify

    First amphibians and jawed fishes diversify
    Devonian, Palaeozoic Era
  • Period: 419 BCE to 359 BCE

    Devonian

    -Fish diversify
    -First amphibians
    -Geological evolution: Caledonian orogeny
  • 359 BCE

    First reptiles, scale trees and seed ferns

    First reptiles, scale trees and seed ferns
    Carboniferous, Palaeozoic Era
  • Period: 359 BCE to 299 BCE

    Carboniferous

    -Forests of giant ferns
    -First reptiles
    -Hercynian orogeny
    -Geological evolution: Pangaea forms
  • 299 BCE

    Major extinctions and reptiles diversify

    Major extinctions and reptiles diversify
    Permian, Palaeozoic Era
  • Period: 299 BCE to 252 BCE

    Permian

    -Reptiles diversify
    -Hercynian orogeny
    -Geological evolution: Pangaea forms
  • 252 BCE

    First mammals and dinosaurs

    First mammals and dinosaurs
    Triassic, Mesozoic Era
  • 252 BCE

    Permian mass extinction

    Permian mass extinction
  • 252 BCE

    The Earth´s greatest extinction occurs Pangaea forms

  • Period: 252 BCE to 66 BCE

    Mesozoic Era

    "Age of reptiles"
    -The Mesozoic Era saw the rise of some of the most iconic animals, from Tyrannosaurus rex to birds and mammals.
    -The Mesozoic Era began 252.2 million years ago, following the conclusion of the Paleozoic Era, and ended 66 million years ago
    -The largest mass extinction in Earth history having occurred at the boundary of the two eras, when some 90 percent of all marine invertebrate species and 70 percent of terrestrial vertebrate disappeared.
  • Period: 252 BCE to 201 BCE

    Triassic

    -First dinosaurs
    -First mammals
  • 201 BCE

    First birds and dinosaurs diversify

    First birds and dinosaurs diversify
    Jurassic, Mesozoic Era
  • Period: 201 BCE to 145 BCE

    Jurassic

    -Gymnosperm plants dominate the Earth´s surface
    -Dinosaurs diversify
    -First flying and aquatic reptiles
    -First birds
    -Geological evolution: Pangaea begins to break up
  • 145 BCE

    Extinction of dinosaurs, first primates and first flowering plants

    Extinction of dinosaurs, first primates and first flowering plants
    Cretaceous, Mesozoic Era
  • Period: 145 BCE to 66 BCE

    Cretaceous

    -First plants with flowers
    -Extinction of dinosaurs and ammonites
    -Geological evolution: large rise in the Earth´s sea level, warm climate in all parts of the globe
  • 66 BCE

    Mammals diversify

    Mammals diversify
    Tertiary, Cenozoic Era
  • 66 BCE

    Extinction of Dinosaurs

    Extinction of Dinosaurs
  • 66 BCE

    Massive extinction from a meteorite impact

  • Period: 66 BCE to 50

    Cenozoic Era

    "Age of mammals"
    -Beginning about 66 million years ago and extending to the present
    -Mammals and flowering plants replaced reptiles and gymnosperms as the dominant life forms.
    -Cenozoic life was affected significantly by a major extinction event that occurred between 10,000 and 8,000 years ago. This event, which involved the sudden disappearance of many mammals after the most recent Ice Age, has been attributed to either of two factors: climatic change and Paleolithic hunters.
  • Period: 66 BCE to 2 BCE

    Tertiary

    -Development and diversification of mammals
    -Geological evolution: Alpine orogeny begins
  • 2 BCE

    Evolution of humans

    Evolution of humans
    Quaternary, Cenozoic Era
  • Period: 2 BCE to 50

    Quaternary

    -Development and diversification of mammals
    -Geological evolution: glaciation in the Northern Hemisphere