AGE OF LARGE ANIMALS AND PLANTS -- POST
CAMBRIAN ERA
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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
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|
Y’rs ago (millions) |
Events |
Climate |
‘Epoch’ |
|
~550 |
First
decent sized fossils, the Ediacara fauna |
ice |
Precamb’ Prd |
|
545 |
Great Cambrian Explosion
, trilobites |
|
Cambrian
|
|
|
|
hot |
Period |
|
515 |
Burgess
Shale |
unknown |
|
|
|
|
|
(545-505
My) |
|
500 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
hot |
Ordovician |
|
|
|
wet |
Period |
|
470 |
plants
invade land (liverworts)
|
|
(505-440
My) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
ice |
|
|
|
|
|
Silurian
|
|
|
|
|
Period |
|
420 |
Creepy-crawlies
invade land, vascular plants appear |
hot |
|
|
|
|
dry |
(440-410
My) |
|
400 |
seeds
appear |
|
|
|
|
|
hot |
Devonian
|
|
380 |
trees
appear |
wet |
Period |
|
370 |
insects appear. |
|
(410-360
My) |
|
360 |
coal
forests fish invade
land oxygen level skyrockets |
|
|
|
|
|
warm |
|
|
|
|
wet |
|
|
330 |
|
|
Carboniferous |
|
|
|
cool |
Period |
|
|
|
wet |
(360-290
My) |
|
300 |
flying
insects appear, herbivores appear |
|
|
|
|
|
ice |
|
|
|
|
|
Permian
|
|
270 |
Pangaea map, 260? flying reptiles appear |
warm |
Period |
|
|
|
dry |
(290-245
My) |
|
250 |
oxygen
level falls |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Triassic
|
|
|
|
|
Period |
|
220 |
primitive
mammals appear, dinosaurs
appear |
|
(245-200
My) |
|
|
|
|
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 Evolution of flight |
medium |
of |
|
140 |
flowering
plants appear |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Cretaceous |
|
|
|
|
Period |
|
100 |
|
hot |
(145-65
My) |
|
|
|
medium |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
70 |
first
primates (primitive) |
|
Dinosaurs |
|
65 |
K-T EXTINCTION, end of dinosaurs &
flying reptiles |
|
|
|
55 |
mammals
start take over, serious primates appear surge of global warmng |
Warm
wet |
Age |
|
40 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
of |
|
|
|
ice |
|
|
7 |
grass
becomes widespread |
|
Mammals |
|
0
5 |
first
Hominids (nearly us) |
|
|
©
C B Pease, Sept 07