-
570 BCE
Cambrian Period - 570-500 MYA
Trilobites were the dominant species during this time, all life was marine life, there was no ozone layer to protect land animals from the deadly rays of the sun -
488 BCE
Ordovician Period - 488-443 MYA
Marine life was still flourishing with the addition of red and green algae, land plants have appeared as well as early life on land, at the end of the period there was a mass extinction of 60% of marine life and 25% of families -
444 BCE
Silurian Period - 444-416 MYA
Coral reefs make their first appearance during this period, marine life (jawless fish) still was around as well as the appearance of the first freshwater fish (ones with jaws), insects roamed on land with plant life -
415 BCE
Devonian Period - 415-360 MYA
There is still marine life and insects during this period, new marine life started showing up, the insects were wingless and/or arachnids, amphibians were appearing as well -
359 BCE
Carboniferous Period - 359-299 MYA
Tropical and swampy forests existed during this period, the Devonian Period fish became extinct and replaced with more modern looking fish, the supercontinent, Pangea, was forming at this time as well as glaciation -
299 BCE
Permian Period - 299-251 MYA
Marine life and other organisms went extinct from a mass extinction during this period, most of the marine invertebrates went extinct, the mass extinction was caused by Pangea which caused extreme climates -
251 BCE
Triassic Period - 251-200 MYA
Very humid and hot climate, life that survived was evolving into more modern like, insects and reptiles still survived, the earliest mammals had arrived -
199 BCE
Jurassic Period - 199-145 MYA
Dinosaurs had arrived, plant life was lush and good for food for dinosaurs, marine life was back, herbivores, carnivores, and first birds roamed the earth -
145 BCE
Cretaceous Period - 145-65 MYA
Called the Age of the Dinosaurs, dinosaurs ruled the earth as well as new plant life, dinosaurs, and early mammals, the supercontinent, Pangea, was separating, at the end of the period, there was a mass extinction caused by a meteor that wiped out all of the dinosaurs except some plant life and birds -
66 BCE
Tertiary Period - 66-3 MYA
Glaciation was causing the whole planet to turn to ice, began with the mass extinction that ended the cretaceous period that wiped out 80%, there was an evolution of mammals, flowering plants, birds, and insects -
2 BCE
Quaternary Period - 2 MYA-Now
We are currently living in this period, the ice age had happened and ended, modern animals evolved to the animals we have today, apes and our ancestors evolved to modern humans