GEOLOGIC TIME SCALE

PRECAMBRIAN (PROTEROZOIC, HADEAN, ARCHEAN)

-Notice that the detail of the
geologic time scale does not begin
until about 540 mya, the date for the
beginning of the Cambrian Period.
The Precambrian is defined as the
time from when the Earth formed
(about 4.5 billion years ago, the
earliest-known rocks) until the
beginning of the Cambrian period
(540 million years ago). The
Precambrian used to be defined as
the time from when the Earth's
rocks formed until the earliest life
forms evolved, but as the date of the
earliest fossils gets earlier and
earlier, this definition has also changed.

PHANEROZOIC EON
1. PALEOZOIC ERA
The Paleozoic is bracketed by two of the most important events in the history of animal life. At its beginning,
multicelled animals underwent a dramatic "explosion" in diversity, and almost all living animal phyla appeared
within a few millions of years. At the other end of the Paleozoic, the largest mass extinction in history wiped out
approximately 90% of all marine animal species. The causes of both these events are still not fully understood
and the subject of much research and controversy.
The Paleozoic is divided into six periods: the Cambrian, Ordovician, Silurian, Devonian, Carboniferous (in the
U.S., this is divided into the Mississippian and Pennsylvanian Periods), and Permian. Most of these names
derive from locations where rocks of these ages were first studied. 
The Paleozoic Era is bracketed by the times of global super-continents. The era opened with the breakup of
the world-continent Pannotia and closed with the formation of Pangea, as the Earth's continents came together
once again.
A. CAMBRIAN PERIOD (540-500 mya)
AGE OF TRILOBITES
Cambria was the Latin name for Wales…
“Age of Trilobites" -The Cambrian Explosion of life occurs; all existent phyla develop. Many marine
invertebrates (marine animals with mineralized shells: shell-fish, echinoderms, trilobites, brachiopods,
mollusks, primitive graptolites). First vertebrates. Earliest primitive fish. Mild climate. The supercontinent
Rodinia began to break into smaller continents (no correspondence to modern-day land masses). Mass
extinction of trilobites and nautiloids at end of Cambrian (50% of all animal families went extinct), probably
due to glaciation.
B. ORDOVICIAN PERIOD (505-438 mya)
1. Ordovices: Welsh Celtic tribes
Primitive plants appear on land. First corals. Primitive fishes, seaweed and fungi. Graptolites, bryozoans,
gastropods, bivalves, and echinoids. High sea levels at first, global cooling and glaciation, and much
volcanism. North America under shallow seas. Ends in huge extinction, due to glaciation.
C. SILURIAN PERIOD (438-408 mya)
Silures: Welsh Celtic tribes
The first jawed fishes and uniramians (like insects, centipedes and millipedes) appeared during the Silurian
(over 400 million years ago). First vascular plants (plants with water-conducting tissue as compared with non-
vascular plants like mosses) appear on land (Cooksonia is the first known). High seas worldwide. Brachiopods,
crinoids, corals.
D. DEVONIAN PERIOD (408-360 mya)
The Devonian is named for Devonshire, England.
Fish and land plants become abundant and diverse. First tetrapods appear toward the end of the period. First
amphibians appear. First sharks, bony fish, and ammonoids. Many coral reefs, brachiopods, crinoids. New
insects, like springtails, appeared. Mass extinction (345 mya) wiped out 30% of all animal families) probably
due to glaciation or meteorite impact.
E. CARBONIFEROUS
1. MISSISSIPIAN PERIOD (360-325 mya)- The Mississippian is named for the upper Mississippi River
valley, not the state of Mississippi, which has very few rocks of this age. Wide-spread coal swamps,
foraminiferans, corals, bryozoans, brachiopods, blastoids, seed ferns, lycopsids, and other plants. Amphibians
become more common. 360 to 280 mya; First winged insects
2. PENNSYLVANIAN PERIOD (325-280 mya)- - However, the Pennsylvanian is named for the state of
Pennsylvania. First reptiles. Many ferns. The first mayflies and cockroaches appear.
F. PERMIAN PERIOD (280-240 mya)- The Permian was described from rocks in the region of Perm, a town in
the Ural Mountains of Russia. The exception to this naming convention is the Carboniferous; its name means
"coal-bearing," and this is a time when extensive coal beds were formed around the world. The Age of
Amphibians" - Amphibians and reptiles dominant. Gymnosperms dominant plant life. The continents merge
into a single super-continent, Pangaea. Phytoplankton and plants oxygenate the Earth's atmosphere to close
to modern levels. The first stoneflies, true bugs, beetles, and caddisflies, The Permian ended with largest mass
extinction. Trilobites go extinct, as do 50% of all animal families, 95% of all marine species, and many trees,
perhaps caused by glaciation or volcanism.
2. MESOZOIC ERA
The Mesozoic Era was the time from 248 million to 65 million years ago. During the Mesozoic, the Earth was
very different than it is now. The climate was warmer, the seasons were very mild, the sea level was higher,
and there was no polar ice. Even the shape of the continents on Earth was different; the continents were
jammed together at the beginning of the Mesozoic Era, forming the supercontinent of Pangaea, but would start
breaking apart toward the middle of the Mesozoic Era. Toward the beginning of the Mesozoic Era there was a
depleted ecosystem world-wide. Many of the old life forms had just gone extinct in the Permian Extinction, the
world's largest mass extinction. This depleted state was followed by an explosion of new life forms, which
included the dinosaurs and mammals, and later in the Mesozoic, the birds and flowering plants.
A. TRIASSIC PERIOD (248-208 mya)- - The first dinosaurs, mammals, and crocodyloformes appear. Mollusks
are the dominant invertebrate. Many reptiles, for example, turtles, ichthyosaurs. True flies appear. Triassic
period ends with a minor extinction 213 mya (35% of all animal families die out, including labyrinthodont
amphibians, conodonts, and all marine reptiles except ichthyosaurs). This allowed the dinosaurs to expand into
many niches.
B. JURASSIC PERIOD (208-146 mya)- - Many dinosaurs, including the giant Sauropods. The first birds
appear (Archaeopteryx). The first flowering plants evolve. Many ferns, cycads, gingkos, rushes, conifers,
ammonites, and pterosaurs. Minor extinctions at 190 and 160 mya.
C. CRETACEOUS PERIOD (146-65 mya) - Lower: The heyday of the dinosaurs. The first crocodilians,
and feathered dinosaurs appear. The earliest-known butterflies appear (about 130 million years ago) as well as
the earliest-known snakes, ants, and bees. Minor extinctions at 144 and 120 mya.
Upper: High tectonic and volcanic activity. Primitive marsupials develop. Continents have a modern-day
look. Minor extinction 82 mya. Ended with large extinction (the K-T extinction) of dinosaurs, pterosaurs,
ammonites, about 50 percent of marine invertebrate species, etc., probably caused by asteroid impact or
volcanism.
3. CENOZOIC ERA- The Cenozoic Era is the most recent of the three major subdivisions of animal history.
The other two are the Mesozoic and Paleozoic Eras. The Cenozoic spans only about 65 million years, from the
end of the Cretaceous Period and the extinction of non-avian dinosaurs to the present. The Cenozoic is
sometimes called the Age of Mammals, because the largest land animals have been mammals during that
time. This is a misnomer for several reasons. First, the history of mammals began long before the Cenozoic
began. Second, the diversity of life during the Cenozoic is far wider than mammals. The Cenozoic could have
been called the "Age of Flowering Plants" or the "Age of Insects" or the "Age of Teleost Fish" or the "Age of
Birds" just as accurately.