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THE GREAT OXIDATION EVENT
Bacteria began harnessing sunlight to make sugar from carbon dioxide and water, just like green plants today. These microbes pumped out oxygen as a waste product, creating the oxygen-rich atmosphere we have today. -
SNOWBALL EARTH
Earth froze over again, twice, in the space of 200 million years. The ice stretched all the way from the poles to the equator. -
THE CAMBRIAN EXPLOSION
This apparent 'explosion' may be partly down to better fossilization, as many animals now had hard shells. -
PLANTS COLONISE THE LAND
Plants were the first to take up permanent residence on land. The first land plants were relatives of green algae, but they rapidly diversified. -
THE FIRST MASS EXTINCTION
The Ordovician period was a time when life flourished. But towards its end, the world cooled dramatically and ice sheets spread from the poles. -
FISH THAT WALK ON LAND
With plants well-established on land, the next step was for animals to move out of the water. -
DAWN OF THE REPTILES
When the first reptiles appeared, Earth was in the middle of a long cold snap called the Late Paleozoic Ice Age. Reptiles evolved from newt-like amphibians. -
PANGAEA
For the last time, all Earth's continents came together to form one giant supercontinent. Known as Pangaea, it was surrounded by a world-spanning ocean called Panthalassa. -
THE GREAT DYING
Just as the reptiles were flourishing, life on Earth faced perhaps its greatest challenge. The Permian extinction was the worst mass extinction in the planet's history, obliterating up to 96% of marine species and similar numbers of land animals. -
THE FIRST MAMMALS
At the same time that the dinosaurs were spreading and diversifying, the first mammals evolved.