PALEOZOIC ERA fish appeared, while the placoderms began dominating

almost every known aquatic environment. The

Cambrian Period - The Cambrian marked a profound ancestors of all four-limbed vertebrates (tetrapods)
change in life on Earth; prior to the Cambrian, the began adapting to walking on land, as their strong
majority of living organisms on the whole were pectoral and pelvic fins gradually evolved into legs. In
small, unicellular and simple; the oceans, primitive sharks became more numerous
the Precambrian Charnia being exceptional. than in the Silurian and Late Ordovician.
Complex, multicellular organisms gradually became Carboniferous (Mississipian & Pennsylvanian) - Based on
more common in the millions of years immediately a study of the British rock succession, it was the first of
preceding the Cambrian, but it was not until this period the modern 'system' names to be employed, and
that mineralized—hence readily fossilized—organisms reflects the fact that many coal beds were formed
became common. The rapid diversification of lifeforms globally during that time. The Carboniferous is often
in the Cambrian, known as the Cambrian explosion, treated in North America as two geological periods, the
produced the first representatives of all modern animal earlier Mississippian and the later Pennsylvanian.
phyla. Terrestrial animal life was well established by the
Carboniferous period. Amphibians were the dominant
Ordovician period - Life continued to flourish during the land vertebrates, of which one branch would eventually
Ordovician as it did in the earlier Cambrian period, evolve into amniotes, the first solely terrestrial
although the end of the period was marked by vertebrates.
the Ordovician–Silurian extinction event. Invertebrates, Arthropods were also very common, and many (such as
namely molluscs and arthropods, dominated the Meganeura) were much larger than those of today. Vast
oceans. The Great Ordovician Biodiversification swaths of forest covered the land, which would
Event considerably increased the diversity of life. Fish, eventually be laid down and become the coal beds
the world's first true vertebrates, continued to evolve, characteristic of the Carboniferous stratigraphy evident
and those with jaws may have first appeared late in the today. The atmospheric content of oxygen also reached
period. Life had yet to diversify on land. About 100 its highest levels in geological history during the period,
times as many meteorites struck the Earth per year 35% compared with 21% today, allowing terrestrial
during the Ordovician compared with today. invertebrates to evolve to great size.
The later half of the period experienced glaciations, low
Silurian Period - A significant evolutionary milestone
sea level, and mountain building as the continents
during the Silurian was the diversification of jawed
collided to form Pangaea. A major marine and
fish and bony fish. Multi-cellular life also began to terrestrial extinction event, the Carboniferous rainforest
appear on land in the form of small, bryophyte-like collapse, occurred at the end of the period, caused by
and vascular plants that grew beside lakes, streams, and climate change.
coastlines, and terrestrial arthropods are also first found
on land during the Silurian. However, terrestrial life Permian period - The Permian witnessed the
would not greatly diversify and affect the landscape diversification of the early amniotes into the ancestral
until the Devonian. groups of the mammals, turtles, lepidosaurs, and
archosaurs. The world at the time was dominated by
Devonian Period - The first significant adaptive two continents known as Pangaea and Siberia,
radiation of life on dry land occurred during the surrounded by a global ocean called Panthalassa. The
Devonian. Free-sporing vascular plants began to spread Carboniferous rainforest collapse left behind vast
across dry land, forming extensive forests which regions of desert within the continental interior.
covered the continents. By the middle of the Devonian, Amniotes, who could better cope with these drier
several groups of plants had evolved leaves and true conditions, rose to dominance in place of their
roots, and by the end of the period the first seed- amphibian ancestors. The Permian (along with the
bearing plants appeared. Various Paleozoic) ended with the Permian–Triassic extinction
terrestrial arthropods also became well-established. event, the largest mass extinction in Earth's history, in
Fish reached substantial diversity during this time, which nearly 90% of marine species and 70% of
leading the Devonian to often be dubbed the "Age of terrestrial species died out. It would take well into the
Fish". The first ray-finned and lobe-finned bony Triassic for life to recover from this catastrophe
MESOZOIC ERA The Cretaceous (along with the Mesozoic) ended with
the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event, a large
Triassic Period - The first true mammals, themselves a mass extinction in which many groups, including non-
specialized subgroup of Therapsids, also evolved during avian dinosaurs, pterosaurs and large marine reptiles
this period, as well as the first flying vertebrates, the died out. The end of the Cretaceous is defined by the
pterosaurs, who like the dinosaurs were a specialized abrupt Cretaceous–Paleogene boundary (K–Pg
subgroup of archosaurs. The vast supercontinent of boundary), a geologic signature associated with the
Pangaea existed until the mid-Triassic, after which it mass extinction which lies between the Mesozoic and
began to gradually rift into two separate landmasses, Cenozoic eras.
Laurasia to the north and Gondwana to the south. CENOZOIC ERA

The global climate during the Triassic was mostly hot Paleocene - the "old recent", is a geological epoch that
and dry, with deserts spanning much of Pangaea's lasted from about 66 to 56 million years ago. It is the
interior. However, the climate shifted and became more first epoch of the Paleogene Period in the modern
humid as Pangaea began to drift apart. The end of the Cenozoic Era. As with many geologic periods, the strata
period was marked by yet another major mass that define the epoch's beginning and end are well
extinction, the Triassic–Jurassic extinction event,that identified, but the exact ages remain uncertain. The
wiped out many groups and allowed dinosaurs to Paleocene Epoch is bracketed by two major events in
assume dominance in the Jurassic. Earth's history. It started with the mass extinction event
at the end of the Cretaceous, known as the Cretaceous–
Jurassic Period - The Jurassic is named after the Jura Paleogene (K–Pg) boundary. This was a time marked by
Mountains within the European Alps, where limestone the demise of non-avian dinosaurs, giant marine reptiles
strata from the period were first identified. By the and much other fauna and flora. The die-off of the
beginning of the Jurassic, the supercontinent Pangaea dinosaurs left unfilled ecological niches worldwide. The
had begun rifting into two landmasses: Laurasia to the Paleocene ended with the Paleocene–Eocene Thermal
north, and Gondwana to the south. This created more Maximum, a geologically brief (~0.2 million year)
coastlines and shifted the continental climate from dry interval characterized by extreme changes in climate
to humid, and many of the arid deserts of the Triassic and carbon cycling.
were replaced by lush rainforests. Eocene - Among terrestrial vertebrates, the start of the
Eocene is marked by the appearance of two new groups
On land, the fauna transitioned from the Triassic fauna, of animals: the perissodactyls, or odd-toed ungulates,
dominated by both dinosauromorph and and the artiodactyls, or even-toed ungulates. The
crocodylomorph archosaurs, to one dominated by perissodactyls include the horses, rhinoceroses, and
dinosaurs alone. The first birds also appeared during the tapirs; among the artiodactyls are the deer, cattle, and
Jurassic, having evolved from a branch of theropod sheep. An early horse ancestor, the dawn horse, known
dinosaurs. Other major events include the appearance in North America as Eohippus, is among the fossil
of the earliest lizards, and the evolution of therian perissodactyls found in the lower Eocene rocks of both
mammals, including primitive placentals. Crocodilians North America and Europe. Artiodactyls, rare during the
made the transition from a terrestrial to an aquatic early Eocene, became abundant later in the epoch.
mode of life. The oceans were inhabited by marine
reptiles such as ichthyosaurs and plesiosaurs, while The Eocene Epoch marks the first appearance in the
pterosaurs were the dominant flying vertebrates. fossil record of the two completely marine mammal
groups, the cetaceans (whales, porpoises, and dolphins)
and the sirenians (akin to the modern manatees and
Cretaceous Period - The Cretaceous was a period with a
dugongs). Similarly, the Eocene provides the first
relatively warm climate, resulting in high eustatic sea
elephant-like animals and the early bats. In addition,
levels that created numerous shallow inland seas. These
gastropods (a class of mollusks containing snails, slugs,
oceans and seas were populated with now-extinct
and limpets) underwent great diversification, and many
marine reptiles, ammonites and rudists, while dinosaurs
bird orders that were in essence modern appeared
continued to dominate on land. During this time, new
during the Eocene.
groups of mammals and birds, as well as flowering
plants, appeared. Oligocene - Oligocene climates appear to have been
temperate, and many regions enjoyed subtropical
climatic conditions. Grasslands expanded and forested
regions dwindled during this time, while tropical A very modern aspect is seen in Pliocene terrestrial
vegetation flourished along the borders of the Tethyan vertebrate faunas of the Northern Hemisphere. Older
Sea. Warm, swampy conditions prevailed over much of groups of animals became extinct throughout the
what is now Germany, and extensive deposits preceding Miocene Epoch. Although similarities are
of lignite coal were formed. Major changes during the evident between the faunas of Eurasia and North
Oligocene included a global expansion of grasslands, America, little faunal interchange appears to have
and a regression of tropical broad leaf forests to the occurred between the two regions. The similarities are
equatorial belt. probably due to the continuation of forms that migrated
between the two areas late in the Miocene. It is likely
Miocene - As the earth went from the Oligocene
that during the Early Pliocene a remarkably
through the Miocene and into the Pliocene, the climate
homogeneous fauna existed from Spain and Africa to
slowly cooled towards a series of ice ages. The Miocene
China. Mastodons (elephant-like animals) underwent a
boundaries are not marked by a single distinct global
great evolutionary diversification during the Pliocene,
event but consist rather of regionally defined
and many variant forms developed, adapted to varying
boundaries between the warmer Oligocene and the
ecological environments. In North America,
cooler Pliocene Epoch. The Miocene is of particular
rhinoceroses became extinct. Camels, some of large
interest to geologists and palaeoclimatologists as major
size, were abundant and diverse, as were horses.
phases of the geology of the Himalaya occurred during
the Miocene, affecting monsoonal patterns in Asia,
which were interlinked with glacial periods in the Pleistocene - The Pleistocene Epoch is best known as a
northern hemisphere. time during which extensive ice sheets and other
glaciers formed repeatedly on the landmasses and has
been informally referred to as the “Great Ice Age.” The
Apes arose and diversified during the Miocene,
timing of the onset of this cold interval, and thus the
becoming widespread in the Old World. By the end of
formal beginning of the Pleistocene Epoch, was a matter
this epoch, the ancestors of humans had split away
of substantial debate among geologists during the late
from the ancestors of the chimpanzees to follow their
20th and early 21st centuries. By 1985, a number
own evolutionary path (7.5 to 5.6 million years ago). As
geological societies agreed to set the beginning of the
in the Oligocene before it, grasslands continued to
Pleistocene Epoch about 1,800,000 years ago, a figure
expand and forests to dwindle in extent. In the seas of
coincident with the onset of glaciation in Europe and
the Miocene, kelp forests made their first appearance
North America. Modern research, however, has shown
and soon became one of Earth's most productive
that large glaciers had formed in other parts of the
ecosystems.
world earlier than 1,800,000 years ago.
Pliocene - Pliocene environments were generally cooler
Holocene - the latest interval of geologic time, covering
and drier than those of preceding epochs, as revealed
approximately the last 11,700 years of the Earth’s
by the remains of plants and trees, but marine records
history. The sediments of the Holocene, both
indicate that an interval around 3.0–3.5 million years
continental and marine, cover the largest area of the
ago may have been a relatively warm period, at least in
globe of any epoch in the geologic record, but the
the North Atlantic.
Holocene is unique because it is coincident with the late
and post-Stone Age history of mankind. The influence of
humans is of world extent and is so profound that it
seems appropriate to have a special geologic name for
this time. The earth has now been tenanted by man.