A TIMELINE FOR THE PLANET click for Home Page
THE AGE OF LARGE ANIMALS AND
PLANTS – POST CAMBRIAN ERA
(for more detail, click here)
Life of Universe life of Planet age of Mammals age of hominids age of humans
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|
Birth
To put things in perspective
-- age of
large animals and plants is in red----------------------↓ of planet 4 (kMy) 3
2
1 now |__________|____________________|____________________|____________________|__________|__________| |
|||
|
Y’rs ago (millions) |
Events |
‘Epoch’ |
|
|
~550 |
First decent sized fossils, the Ediacara fauna more |
ice |
Precamb’ Prd |
|
545 |
|
Cambrian |
|
|
|
|
hot |
Period |
|
515 |
Burgess Shale more |
unknown |
|
|
|
|
|
(545-505 My) |
|
500 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
hot |
Ordovician |
|
|
|
wet |
Period |
|
470 |
plants invade land (liverworts) more |
|
(505-440 My) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
ice |
|
|
|
|
|
Silurian |
|
|
|
|
Period |
|
420 |
Creepy-crawlies invade land more, vascular
plants appear more |
hot |
|
|
|
|
dry |
(440-410 My) |
|
400 |
seeds appear more |
|
|
|
|
|
hot |
Devonian |
|
380 |
trees appear more |
wet |
Period |
|
370 |
insects appear. |
|
(410-360 My) |
|
360 |
coal forests more
fish invade land more
oxygen level leaps more |
|
|
|
|
|
warm |
|
|
|
|
wet |
|
|
330 |
|
|
Carboniferous |
|
|
|
cool |
Period |
|
|
|
wet |
(360-290 My) |
|
300 |
flying insects appear more, herbivores appear |
|
|
|
|
|
ice |
|
|
|
|
|
Permian |
|
270 |
warm |
Period |
|
|
|
|
dry |
(290-245 My) |
|
250 |
oxygen
level falls |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Triassic |
|
|
|
|
Period |
|
220 |
primitive mammals appear, dinosaurs appear |
|
(245-200 My) |
|
|
strange ‘Triassic’ animals appear more |
|
Age |
|
200 |
|
hot dry |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Jurassic |
|
|
|
|
Period |
|
|
|
|
(200-145 My) |
|
150 |
end of Pangaea huge dinos & flying reptiles oxygen level rises |
warm |
|
|
|
(still 150) first birds more Evolution of
flight |
medium |
of |
|
140 |
flowering plants appear more |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Cretaceous |
|
|
|
|
Period |
|
100 |
|
hot |
(145-65 My) |
|
|
|
medium |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
70 |
first primates (primitive) |
|
Dinosaurs |
|
65 |
K-T EXTINCTION more end of dinosaurs & flying
reptiles |
|
|
|
55 |
mammals
start take over, serious primates appear, |
Warm
wet |
|
|
40 |
India hits Asia, oxygen
level falls descent into ice age begins |
|
Age of |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
ice |
Mammals |
|
7 |
grass
becomes widespread |
|
|
|
0 5 |
first
Hominids (nearly us) |
|
|
© C
B Pease, Sept 07