EVOLUTION

Exploring the changes of

the Earth throughout
time

2ND SEM: MODULE 2

 Earth is the only known planet to have
sustained and cater life. But have you ever
wondered how did life begin on its surface?
What are the features and characteristics of
the first life on Earth? Where and when did
exactly life begin?

Are humans the first life found on

Earth? If not, when did humans begin to
populate the Earth? What are the organisms
that walked before humans and with humans
on Earth?
Lesson Objectives:
• Describe general
features of the history
of life on Earth,
including generally
accepted dates and
sequence of the geologic
time scale.
 Introduction
The Earth is covered with thick blanket of ice,
lots of volcanoes and high mountains, large
organisms roamed the land, the atmosphere
did not have high oxygen content,
asteroids/meteors frequently hit the surface,
the lands moved a lot or the continents were
a little closer to each other, volcanic
eruptions, little bit warmer, plats were bigger
ammonia gas oxygen gas nitrogen gas water vapour

and humans were not yet around.

The Earth’s history is
divided into eons, eras,
periods and epochs.

Geologic Time Scale

It is a record of the life
forms and geological
events in Earth’s history.
Scientist developed the
time scale by studying
the rock layers and
fossils worldwide.
 c
EON
Largest division
of geological
time scale; half
billion – nearly
2 billion years
ago.
 The Precambrian Eon
(Hadean, Archean, Proterozoic Eon)
• Covers approximately 88% of the Earth’s history.
• Earth was transformed from a ball of gas and dust to liquid rock
enveloped with hot, non-breathable gases mostly composed of carbon
dioxide, nitrogen, and sulfur.
• Molten rock cooled
down to form the
earth’s crust and
with that, the
gases also changed
providing a cooler
temperature
composed mostly
of nitrogen.
 The Precambrian Eon

c
(Hadean, Archean, Proterozoic Eon)
• Single-celled cyanobacteria to exist.
• Tiny, sessile soft-bodied sea creatures exist in
Proterozoic Eon.
• Coronacollina acula - sponge-like fossils that
show the existence of hard body parts and
spicules.
• Movement of tectonic plates forming the
supercontinent Rodinia in Proterozoic Eon.
• Earth’s core and atmosphere cooled down.
• Production of oxygen of the primitive
cyanobacteria cause a drastic change in the
chemical composition of the Earth’s atmosphere.
• Domination of aerobic eukaryotes, the first
multicellular organisms.
 c
ERA
Division that span
time periods of
tens to hundreds
of millions of
years.
• Paleozoic
• Mesozoic
• Cenozoic
 c
PERIODS

Division of
geologic history
with spans of no
more than 100
million years
 Paleozoic Era
• Known as “Old Life” (540 –
300 million years)
• Divided into 6 periods:
Cambrian, Ordovician, Silurian,
Devonian, Carboniferous and
Permian.
• Break-up of supercontinent
Rodinia into continents
Gondwana and Lauresia.
• Sea levels were very high.
• Began with a spectacular burst
of new life – known as
Cambrian Explosion.
Cambrian Period (544 – 505 MYA)
• Primitive animals called sponges
evolved.
• Small ocean invertebrates called
trilobites were very abundant.
• Appearance and/or
diversification of mineralized
algae of various types (coralline
red algae and dasyclad green
algae).
• Cambrian period ended by lack
of oxygen combined with
poisonous hydrogen sulphide
killed off many Cambrian
animals.
Ordovician Period (505 – 440 MYA)
• Best known for its diverse
marine invertebrates.
• First vertebrate fish called
ostracoderms (jawless fish).
• Plants invaded the land at this
time.
• Earth experienced a milder
climate.
• Massive glaciers formed.
• Mass extinctions due to dropping
of sea levels in which 60% of all
marine invertebrate genera and
25% of all families went extinct.
Silurian Period (443.7 – 416 MYA)
• Evolution and diversification of
fish.
• Coral reefs made their first
appearance.
• First evidence of life on land is
preserved (relatives of spiders and
centipedes)
• The earliest fossils of vascular
plants.
• Melting of large glacial
formations.
• The extinction was a most likely a
result of global cooling and
reduced sea levels.
Devonian Period (419.2 – 358.9 MYA)
• Known as “Age of Fishes”.
• Tiktaalik roseae, earliest known tetrapod is
considered to be the link between the lobe-
finned fishes and early amphibians.
• Lycophytes, horsetails and ferns formed
Earth’s first forests.
• Archaeopteris were the first successful trees.
• Reproduction was by male and female
spores are precursors to seed-bearing
plants.
• Ends with a cataclysmic extinction event,
particularly devastating to nearly 70-80%
of warm-water marine communities.
Carboniferous Period (359.2 – 299 MYA)
• Age of Amphibians
• Famous for its vast swamp forests that
produced the coal from which the term
Carboniferous, or "carbon-bearing," is
derived.
• Collision of Laurasia and Gondwana to form
the supercontinent Pangaea.
• Amniotes, the ancestors of modern reptiles,
birds, and mammals, evolved.
• Insects grew to much larger sizes due to the
high oxygen levels.
• The climate changed from warm and humid
to more glacial conditions.
• The CRC was caused by a major global
environment change.
Permian Period (298.9 – 251.9 MYA)
• Land plants evolved from ferns and
seed ferns to conifers.
• Reptiles evolved into three distinct
groups: the cotylosaurs, the
pelycosaurs, and the therapsids
• Insects reached their highest diversity
of high-level forms of all time
• Major land masses combined to form
supercontinent Pangaea.
• Extreme temperatures, dry climate.
• Plants and animals evolve.
• Ended with mass extinction
Permian Period (298.9 – 251.9 MYA)
• Permian Extinction – the worst
and massive extinction event in
the planet's history, is estimated
to have wiped out more than
90% of all marine species and
70% of land animals.
• Series of volcanic eruptions
blocked the sun, causing a
significant drop in temperature.
• Sudden warming and cooling.
 Mesozoic Era
• Started 245 million years ago and lasted for 180
million years.
• Known as the “Middle life”
• Age of Reptiles and Age of Dinosaurs
• Subdivided into 3 periods: Triassic, Jurassic and
Cretaceous
 Mesozoic Era
• Started 245 million years ago and lasted for 180
million years.
• Known as the “Middle life”
• Age of Reptiles and Age of Dinosaurs
• Subdivided into 3 periods: Triassic, Jurassic and
Cretaceous
 Triassic Period
• First dinosaurs branched off from reptiles.
• Huge seed ferns and conifers
• Pangaea started to separate into Laurasia and
Gondwanaland.
• Ended with mass extinction.
 Jurassic Period
• “The Golden Age of
Dinosaurs”; earliest bird
evolve form reptile ancestors.
• Mammals evolve
• Flowering plants and new
insects appeared
• Earthquake and volcanic
activities are intense.
 Cretaceous Period
• Dinosaurs reached their peak in
size.
• Earth’s overall climate was warm.
• By the end of cretaceous,
continents were close to their
present locations.
• Ended with dramatic extinction of
dinosaurs thought to be brought
about by the collision of an
asteroid or comet with Earth.
 Cenozoic Era
• “Recent life”; started more
than 65 million years and
continues up to the present.
• “Age of Mammals”

• Paleogene
• Neogene
• Quaternary

• The formation of mountain

ranges
• Animals had to adapt with
the rise and fall of the
oceans.
Tertiary Period (65-1.8 MYA)
• Earth’s climate was
warm and humid.
• Mammals evolve and
increase in size.
• Primates evolved
• Modern rainforest and
grasslands appeared
• Widespread flowering
plants and insects.
Quaternary Period (1.8 MYA-Present)
• Earth’s climate was cool
• Sea level fell because
water froze.
• Some mammals, like
mammoths adapt to the
cold.
 EPOCH
Smallest division of
the geologic time
scale.