EVOLUTION OF

EARTH'S HISTORY
-PALEOZOIC
-MESOZOIC
-CENOZOIC
FATHER OF GEOLOGICAL TIME SCALE
(Arthur Holmes)
The geologic time scale (GTS) is the
principal tool for deciphering and
understanding the long and complex
history of our planet, Earth. He placed
the beginning of the Cambrian period
at around 600 million years ago; today
590 million years is the time frame
largely accepted. Holmes was known
as the "Father of Geological Time
Scale".
 PALEOZOIC ERA
The Paleozoic era is also known as the "age of
fishes" or the "age of ancient life". Spanning
from 544 to 245 million years ago. It began
with the Cambrian explosion, a remarkable
event that saw the rapid diversification of
multicellular animals in the oceans.
 PALEOZOIC ERA
With a magnificent explosion of fresh life, the age started.
The Cambrian explosion is the name given to this event. The
period came to an end with the world’s largest mass
extinction. The Permian extinction is the name given to this
event.

It ended with the Permian-Triassic extinction, the most

severe mass extinction in Earth's history that wiped out
about 90% of all species.
PALEOZOIC PERIODS:
CAMBRIAN PERIOD (544-505 million years
ago)

•Following the Precambrian mass extinction,

there was an explosion of new kinds of
organisms in the Cambrian.

•Many types of primitive animals called

sponges evolved.

• Small ocean invertebrates (animals without a

backbone), called trilobites, were very
abudant
ORDOVICIAN PERIOD (505-440 million
years ago)
•The oceans were filled with
invertebrates of many
types.

•The first fish evolved.

• Plants colonized the land

for the first time, but
animals still remained in the
water
SILURIAN PERIOD (440-410
million years ago)
•In the oceans, corals appeared and
fish continued to evolve.

•On the land, vascular plants appeared.

With special tissues to circulate water
and other materials, they could grow
larger than earlier, nonvascular plants.
DEVONIAN PERIOD (410-360 million
years ago)
•The first seed plants evolved. Seeds had a
protective coat and stored food to help
them survive. Seed plants eventually
became the most common type of land
plants.

•Fish with lobe fins evolved. They could

breathe air when they raised their heads
above water. Breathing would be necessary
for animals to eventually colonize the land.
CARBONIFEROUS PERIOD (360-290
million years ago)
•Widespread forests of huge plants left
massive deposits
of carbon that eventually turned to coal.

•The first amphibians evolved to colonize

land, but they
had to return to the water to reproduce.

•Soon after amphibians arose, the first

reptiles evolved.They were the first animals
that could reproduce on dry land.
PERMIAN PERIOD (290 -245
million years ago)
•All the major land masses collided to form a
supercontinent called pangaea.

• Temperatures were extreme, and the climate

was dry. Plants and animals evolved adaptations
to dryness, such as waxy leaves or leathery skin to
prevent water loss.

•The permian ended with a mass extinction.

 MESOZOIC ERA
The Mesozoic era is also known as the "age of
reptiles" or the "age of dinosaurs" it lasted from 245
to 65 million years ago. It began with the recovery of
life after the Permian-Triassic extinction, and ended
with the Cretaceous-Paleogene extinction, another
major mass extinction that killed off the non-avian
dinosaurs and many other groups of organisms.
 MESOZOIC ERA
During this era, the dinosaurs dominated the land,
the pterosaurs ruled the skies, and the marine
reptiles such as ichthyosaurs, plesiosaurs, and
mosasaurs inhabited the seas. The first birds,
mammals, flowering plants, and social insects also
evolved. The continents gradually drifted apart,
forming the modern configuration of world.
 MESOZOIC PERIODS:
TRIASSIC PERIOD (245-200 million years
ago)
•The first dinosaurs branched off from the
reptiles and colonized the land, air, and water.

•Huge seed ferns and conifers dominated the

forests. Modern corals, fish, and insects
evolved.

•Pangaea started to separate into Laurasia

(today's Northern Hemisphere continents) and
Gondwanaland.
JURASSIC PERIOD (200-145 million
years ago)
•The mass extinction that ended the Triassic
allowed dinosaurs to flourish in the Jurassic.
This was the golden age of dinosaurs.

•The earliest birds evolved from reptile

ancestors.

•All the major groups of mammals evolved, but

individual mammals were still small in size.

•Flowering plants appeared for the first time.

New insects also evolved to pollinate the
flowers.
CRETACEOUS PERIOD (145-65 million
years ago)
•Dinosaurs reached their peak in size
and distributions. Tyrannosaurus rex,
pictured here, weighed at least 7 tons.

•By the end of the Cretaceous, the

continents were close to their present
locations. Earth's overall climate was
warm; even the poles lacked ice.

•The period ended with the dramatic

extinction of the dinosaurs.
 CENOZOIC ERA
Cenozoic Era, third of the major eras of Earth’s
history, beginning about 65 million years ago and
extending to the present.
The term Cenozoic, originally spelled Kainozoic,
was introduced by English geologist John Phillips
in an 1840 Penny Cyclopaedia article to designate
the most recent of the three major subdivisions of
the Phanerozoic Eon.
 CENOZOIC ERA
It began with the rise of mammals and birds after the
Cretaceous-Paleogene extinction, and continues to
the present day. During this era, the mammals
diversified and adapted to various habitats, the birds
became the most diverse group of vertebrates, and
the angiosperms became the dominant plants. The
first primates, whales, horses, elephants, rodents, and
grasses also appeared.
 CENOZOIC ERA
The climate changed from warm and
humid to cooler and drier, and the ice
ages occurred. The continents continued
to drift and collide, forming mountain
ranges and volcanoes. The human
species emerged and became the most
influential factor in the biosphere.
 TERTIARY (PALEOGENE
PERIOD)
• Paleocene Epoch: It began • Eocene Epoch: It began in 54 Million
years ago and End in 38 Million years
in 65 Million years ago and
ago
End in 54 Milliom years ago.
- Ungulates originated.

- Social insects achieve

- The ancestral form of modern horses
ecological dominance. lived.

- The Azolla Event- freshwater fern

- Appearance of placental
blooms die at the bottom of Arctic Sea,
mammals (marsupials, drawing down large amounts of CO2
insectivores, creodonts). (reduced by 80%) and triggering an
ice age.
 TERTIARY (NEOGENE
PERIOD)
• Oligocene epoch: It began in 38 • Miocene epoch: It began in
Mya and End in 28 Mya 26 Mya and End in 7 Mya.

- Several animals with ancient - Several varieties of grasses

characteristics became extinct. evolved in Europe and N.
America (large prairies
- Mammals continue to diversify. formed).

- Modern mammalian families - These changes encouraged

established. the evolution of fast running
herbivorous mammals and
- Apes originated. their predators.
TERTIARY (NEOGENE
PERIOD)
•Pliocene Epoch: It began in 7 Mya and End in 2 Myn.

- Prairie's enlarged still further in several regions.

- Rodents became more successful.

- Mammals increased in number.

-Appearance of Australopithecus, genus of hominids.

 QUATERNARY PERIOD
• Pleistocene epoch: It began in 2 Mya and End in
I Mya
-Several glaciations happened.
popularly called the 'modern Ice age'.
- A handy man appeared.
- Homo erectus first moves out of Africa.
- The evolution of horses and man reached the
final stages.
- Homo sapiens appeared.
- Today we are living in an inter-glacial Period.
• Holocene Epoch: began
12,000 to 11,500 million years
ago
-Another term that is
sometimes used is
Anthropogene, the "Age of
Man."
The Holocene has witnessed all
of humanity's recorded history
and the rise and fall of all its
civilizations.
 QUIZ
1) MESOZOIC ERA WAS ALSO KNOWN AS?
2) WHEN WAS THE FIRST FISH EVOLVE?
3) IN WHICH PERIOD DID THE FIRST SEED PLANTS
EVOLVED?
4) ________ started to separate into Laurasia (today's
Northern Hemisphere continents) and
Gondwanaland.
5) WHO IS THE FATHER OR GEOLOGICAL TIME
SCALE?
 6) The term Cenozoic, originally spelled
Kainozoic, was introduced by English
geologist ____________
7) WHEN DID THE PALEOCENE EPOCH
BEGAN?
8) APES ORIGINATED IN WHICH EPOCH?
9) HOMO SAPIENS APPEARED, IN WHICH
EPOCH?
10) PALEOZOIC ERA ENDED WITH THE?