A TIMELINE FOR THE PLANET

AGE OF LARGE ANIMALS AND PLANTSPOST CAMBRIAN ERA

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           Birth                  To put things in perspectiveage of large animals and plants is in red------------

      Of planet        4 (kMy)                           3                                     2                                    1                                 now

             |________|___________________|___________________|___________________|_________|_________|

 

Y’rs ago

(millions)

Events

Climate

‘Epoch’

      ~550

First decent sized fossils, the Ediacara fauna

     ice

Precamb’ Prd

         545

Great Cambrian Explosion ,   trilobites        Panotia   map 

 

Cambrian

 

                               

    hot

Period

         520

CAMBRIAN EXTINCTION     515: Burgess Shale

unknown

 

 

 

 

(545-505 My)

500

 

 

 

 

 

    hot

Ordovician

 

 

   wet

Period

         470

plants invade land (liverworts) & fungi appear

 

(505-440 My)

         465

Great Ordovician diversification                                                         map

 

 

 

 

    ice

 

         440

ORDOVICIAN EXTINCTION

 

Silurian

 

 

 

Period

         420

animals invade land (arthropods) , vascular plants appear    

    hot

 

 

                                                                                                               map

    dry

(440-410 My)

400

Pangaea starts to build,  seeds appear (or possibly later)

 

 

 

 

    hot

Devonian

         380

trees appear

   wet

Period

         370

insects appear.   365: LATE DEVONIAN EXTINCTION

 

(410-360 My)

         360

coal forests  fish invade land   oxygen level leaps 

 

 

         350

land reptiles appear                                                                           map

  warm

 

 

 

   wet

 

         330

(throughout period) huge development in plants

 

Carboniferous

 

 

   cool

Period

 

 

   wet

(360-290 My)

300

flying insects appear ,  herbivores appear,  conifers appear

 

 

 

 

    ice

 

 

 

 

Permian

         270

Pangaea complete. map, 260? flying reptiles appear

  warm

Period

 

 

    dry

(290-245 My)

         250

Flood Basalts (Sib. Traps)  P-T EXTINCT’  oxygen level falls

 

 

         240

widespread deserts (throughout period)

 

Triassic

 

 

 

Period

         220

Strange ‘triassic’ animals appear, + dinos & primitive mammals

 

(245-200 My)

        

 

 

               Age

200   205

flood basalts (S. America), TRIASSIC EXTINCTION           map

 hot dry

 

 

Gymnosperms dominate the plant scene

 

 

         183

flood basalts (S. Africa & Antarctica, minor extinction),  methane outpouring

 

Jurassic

 

 

 

Period

 

 

 

(200-145 My)

         150

Pangaea starts break up   huge dinos & flying reptiles   oxygen level rises

  warm

 

 

(still 150)  first birds                      Evolution of flight   

 medium

of

         140

flowering plants appear

 

 

         120

Flood basalts, methane outpourings (but no extinctions)

 

Cretaceous

 

 

 

Period

100

 

    hot

(145-65 My)

 

 

 medium

 

 

 

 

 

           70

first primates (primitive)         65+ Flood basalts (Deccan Traps)

 

Dinosaurs

           65

K-T EXTINCTION,  end of dinosaurs & flying reptiles           map

 

 

           55

mammals start take over, serious primates appear  surge of global warmng

Warm wet

Age

           40

India hits Asia,       oxygen level falls        descent into ice age begins

 

 

           30

Hominoids appear (apes etc.)         35: Antarctic ice sheet starts to form 

 

of

           20

Africa hits Europe

     ice

 

           10

Himalayas start building,  7: grass becomes widespread

 

Mammals

    0       5

first Hominids   2.5 first tools   1.9  first Homos leave Africa  1.6 use of Fire

 

 

© C B Pease, January 08