IT IS ESTIMATED THAT THE EARTH FORMED

ALONG WITH THE SOLAR SYSTEM 4.6 BILLION

YEARS AGO (4,600 MYA)

THE GEOLOGIC TIME SCALE IS

A SUMMARY OF THE MAJOR EVENTS IN EARTH’S HISTORY

EON – largest segment of geologic time

ERA

PERIOD
EPOCH – smallest segment of geologic time
Eons: Hadean Eon
Precambrian Archean Eon
Proterozoic Eon
Phanerozoic

Eras: Periods:
Paleozoic Cambrian
Mesozoic Ordovician
Cenozoic Paleozoic Silurian
“Age of
Invertebrates” Devonian
Carboniferous
(Mississippian & Pennsylvanian) Epochs:
Permian Paleocene
Eocene
Mesozoic Triassic Oligocene
“Age of Reptiles” Jurassic
Cretaceous Miocene
Paleogene Pliocene
Cenozoic Neogene
“Age of Mammals”
Pleistocene
Quaternary Holocene
 The Earth Through Time
The Hadean Eon:
• 4.6 billion to 4 billion years ago

• Solar system was forming within a cloud

of dust and gas known as the solar nebula,
which eventually spawned planets and etc.
•No life possible as the Earth initially
forms 4.6 billion years ago.

Archean Eon:
 Between 4 billion to 2.5 billion years ago
 The first form of life on our planet was
created in the ocean.
Simple, single-celled forms of life appear 3.8
billion years ago, becoming more complex
and successful over the next 3 billion years:
Prokaryotes
By the end of the Archean Eon ocean floor
was covered in a living mat of bacterial life. 5
 The Earth Through Time

The Proterozoic:
 2.5 billion years ago
 In this time, enough shield rock had
formed to start recognizable geologic
processes such as plate tectonics.
 Eukaryotes
 Contains many traces of primitive life
forms - the fossil remains of bacteria and
blue-green algae and the first oxygen
dependent animals.

PHANEROZOIC EON:
 Covers 541 million years to the
present.
 Time in which abundant animals and
plant life existed.
 Divided into 3 eras (Paleozoic,
Mesozoic, Cenozoic)
 The Earth Through Time
PALEOZOIC ERA:
 541 million to 241 million years ago.
 the era began with the break up of one super
continent and the formation of another. Plants
became wide spread.
 Divided into Cambrian, Ordovician,
Silurian, Devonian, Carboniferous and
Permian periods.
 Age of invertebrates

Cambrian Period:
 Explosion of life
 Life forms in warm seas as oxygen levels
rise enough to support life
 Dominant animals: Marine invertebrates
 Evolution of arthropods (ancestors of
today's insects and crustaceans)
Ordovician Period:
 The 1st animals with bones appear, though
dominant animals are still trilobites (an
armored arthropods that scuttled around the
sea floor for about 270 million years before
going extinct) and corals

Silurian Period:
 443 million to 416 million years ago
 Saw the spread of jawless fish in the seas.
 First land plants appear evolved though they
don't have leaves yet
 Coral reefs expand and land plants begin to
colonize land.
 First millipede fossils and sea scorpions found
in this period 8
Devonian Period
(Age of the Fish)
 Dominant animal: fish
 Oceans still freshwater
 Amphibians, evergreens and ferns appear

Carboniferous Period
 First seed plants appear
 Tetrapods began laying eggs on the land for the first time
during this period allowing them to break away in the
amphibious lifestyle. Tetrapod's were becoming specialized.
 Two new groups of animals evolved. The first were the
marine reptiles including lizards and snakes. Second were
the archosaurs (which would give rise to the crocodiles,
dinosaurs and birds)
 This is sometimes referred to as the 'Age of cockroaches'
because roaches ancient ancestors (Archimylacris egginto)
was found all across the globe during this period.
Permian Period:
299 million to 251 million years ago
Before Permian mass extinctions during this time coral reefs
flourished providing shelter for fish and shelled creatures.
Modern conifers and ginkgo trees evolved on land.
Terrestrial vertebrates evolved to become herbivores taking
advantage of the new plant that colonized the land.
Reptiles spread across continents.
 90% of Earth’s species become extinct due to volcanism This
marks the end of trilobites, ammonoids and most fish.

Mesozoic Era:
252 million to 66 million years ago
Also known as the age of reptiles or Age of Dinosaurs
Divided into 3 period ( Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous)

Triassic Period:
 First dinosaurs appear
 First mammals- small rodents appear
 Rocky Mountains form.
 First turtle fossil from this period
Jurassic Period:
 Pangea still breaking apart
 Dinosaurs flourish “Golden age of
dinosaurs”
 First birds appear

Cretaceous:
 known for its iconic dinosaurs such as Triceratops
and Pterosaurs ( Pteranodon)
 First snakes
 Deciduous trees and grasses common
 First flowering plants
 Mass extinction marks the end of the Mesozoic Era,
with the demise of dinosaurs and 25% of all marine life.
Cenozoic Era:
 Began 65 million years ago and continue up to the present.
 Divided into 3 Paleogene, Neogene and Quaternary periods.
 The current location of continents and their modern day
inhabitants, including humans can be traced to this era.
 Also known as the Age of Mammals, because of the
extinction of many group of giant mammals. Allowing smaller
species to thrive and diversified because their predators no
longer existed.

Paleogene Period:
• 65 million to 23 million years ago.

• Consists of the Paleocene, Eocene and Oligocene epochs

• The beginning of the Paleocene period was the time for the
mammals that survived the cretaceous period.

First horses appear and tropical plants dominate (Paleocene)

• As the period ends dogs, cats and pigs become common.

(Oligocene)
Neogene Period:
 Consist od Miocene and Pliocene epochs.

 Grasses spread and whales, rhinos, elephants and other

large mammals develop.
Horses, camels, and tigers roam
 Hominids develop

Quaternary Period:

 2.6 million up to the present year

 cave lions, Sabre-toothed cats, giant deer, rhinoceroses
and mammoths were prevailing species during this
period.
 Modern humans develop and ice sheets are
predominant- Ice age (Pleistocene)
 Holocene Humans flourish (Holocene)
 Why Extinction?
Summarize the factors, both natural and man-made, that can contribute to the extinction of a species.

 Extinction of a species occurs when no more members of a particular species remains. Extinction
through time is very common, and, in fact, nearly 90 percent of all species that ever lived on Earth
are now extinct.
 Organisms that cannot survive a catastrophic or significant change in earth’s climate usually
become extinct. Extinctions are a way of clearing the path for new kinds of life that is potentially
more advanced. This is a natural part of life’s process.
 Natural phenomena that can contribute to the extinction of a species include global climate
changes, volcanic explosions, and celestial impacts.
 The influence of humans on the environment do not
include comet impacts or volcanism; however, man has
caused extinctions all the same. Over the past few
hundred years, man has cut rainforests and woodland
forests, destroying natural habitats. Pollution from
industrial plants and vehicles has also affected the air
we breath and contributed to greenhouse gases, which
drive global warming. We are looking at the potential
extinction of many species due to this warming trend.
 In addition to threatening less-adaptive creatures
than ourselves, man is negatively impacting biological
resources that our own species need. Man can adapt to
many things with the help of technology. 14
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