Longest part of the time table, 87.6% 

Scarce Life

No exctinctions

Life was abundant, Cabrian, Trilobytes, Worms, Molusks, Sponges 

10 Exctinctions

12.4% of Earth's existance

Hadean Era

Fiery Begining

No life

Spinning cloud of dust and gases make solar system

Particles lump to for planets

Formation of Earth

Heavier Particles sink to the center

Lighter rise to the top and form crust

Earth is molten and begins to cool

named after Hades

Continent Building

Atmosphere- very little O2, has H, methane and ammonia

oceans form, submarine volcanic activity builds continents

Acrchean rocks can be found in South Africa, Western Australia, Canada and India

Formation of amino acids

First forms of life, single celled organisms

Anerobic bacteria formed

heterotrphs (eat other life forms)

Autotrophs arrived (photosynthetics)

Plate Tectonics

One major land mass (split)

Major land masses form

shallow seas form

O2 builds up

first Eukayrotes (cells with nucleus)

First multicellular life forms

Explosion of Life

Climate begins to warm

desert lands, no life on land

shallow warm seas

rapid diversification of marine life, trilobites (first to have eyes), worms, mollusks, sponges, echinoderms, chordate, anomalocaris

some animals develop hard shells

Marine plants, algae

climate=cold, glaciers advance, temp and O2 drop causing mass extinction

Ordivician

Rise of Cephalopods

Gondwana Land-continents for Australia, Africa, S. Europe, Antarctica and S. American; covered by water, moved to S. Pole

N. America and Europe near equator, sometimes underwater, some not-climate change

Climate-started warm, when Gondwana stopped moving glaciers formed causing sea level to drop and climate change

Mass extinction due to climate change

primitive fish emerge

Cephalopods dominate predator

Other life forms- brachiopods, crinoids, sponges, corals, primitive fish

Plant life-blue and green algae

First land plants along water's edge emerged-mosses, fungi and lichen

Plants move onto land

Land masses- Gondwana now stretches from equator southward; N. American plate moving southeast and collides with another plate forming mountain range

Climate, much warmer, glaciers melt, causing sea level to rise

Mountain building caused by colliding plates resulted in evaporated waters- plants adapted to land

Marine animals-Nautiloids, Brachiopos, bryozoans, crinoids, Eurypterids (sea scorpions)-dominant predator

Coral reefs form-tabulate coral and Rugose coral

bony fish

mosses and primitive plants on water's edge

invertebrate land animals 

insects

lnad plants

Major Extinction Occurs

Mountain building

Devonian

Age of the Fish

N. America and Europe collided forming Appalachians; new land mass called Euramerica; Gondwana and Euramerica moving toward each other; near equator

Very warm climate

plands form roots and vascular tissue-survive on land

first trees and ferns

first wingless insects and spiders

Fish develop jaws, gills and paired fins; placoderms, dunkleosteus

Ancient sharks, bony fish= coelacanth

Lung fish-dipterus; stuck its head out of shallow ponds to get a breath of air

Amphibians

Corals, sponges and reefs; new species-ammonite

Climate cools and another mass extinction ends the Devonian

Giant Trees

Euroamerica and Gondwana collide and form mountains

New continent formed-Pangea

Mountains have no plants-rock surface washes away forming deltas and flood plains

lands submerge beneath warm shallow seas forming limestone

Trilobites headed for extinction

Bryozoans, brachiopods cover sea floor, fish look more like modern fish

widespread forests of very large sized trees

Mountains cause arid regions in interior of continents

Giant Insects

Diversification of amphibians

Tetrapods (4-legged animas) multiplied

first reptiles, first winged insects

Giant insects, dragonfly(wingspan 2.5 ft), millipedes and spiders

swamps and forests

glaciers in S. Hemisphere causing mass extinction-marine invertebrates most affected

Largest mass extinction

Pangea completely formed, moving N., cooler climate

Pangea collided with Siberia forming Ural Mountains

Climate was very dry because oceans were farther away(large sized Pangea) swamps dried up plants had to adapt

Plants developed seeds

rise of conifers (trees with seeds inside cones) 

Amphibians die out, reptile diversification dimetrodon, pelycosaurs

Therapsids animals may have had fur

Coral building- huge reefs

High volcanic activity

Ends with largest known mass extinction; 90-95% of species in ocean become extinct, most on land survive

New Species

All the land in one mass Pangea

Pangea located over equator

brakes up to form Gondwanaland and Laurasia; Gondwanaland moves south, Laurasia N.

Sierra, Nevada Mountains form, look like islands, western part of N. America flooded

Climate is warm, inland areas were dry and desert-like

rise of dinosaurs (begin to appear)

Ammonites survive, new species Belemnites (mollusk or early squid)

reptiles rule the seas-plesiosaurs

large deserts

limited shallow seas

minor extinction 20% of life in oceans and land died out

Age of Dinosaurs

Pangea continues to split, high volcanic activity

Birds emerge

Mountains form from British Columbia through N America to S. America

Stable warm climate

Ocean belemites, ammonites, gastropods, corals,  bony fish, shark, rays

marine predators- Ichthyosaaurs, plesiosaurs, crocodiles

Land pulled apart, sees rose

small animals present

minor extinction of bivalved mollusks 

First Flowers

Laurasia and Gondwanaland move apart

rift in ocean floor broke apart led to S. Atlantic second rift between India and Afric

African and S. American plates separate

Andes Mountains form

New dinos, T-rex, ceratoposian, tricerotops

Seas-like Jurassic

Flowering plants emerge

Butterflies, ant, termites and bees feed on flowers

major extinction including dinos

Meteor may have hit Yucatan-high volcanic activity, air pollution, blocking sun, temp drop

70% of ocean and 15% of land extinct

Climate cools

Mesozoic ends

Climate warms, 3 Epochs, ends with ice age

Rockies and Himalayas, Europe w/ N. America, Australia w/ Antarctica, India alone Atlantic Forming

Modern Hoofed herbivore, rodents and first primates

Europe and N. America separate, Australia and Antarctica separate

monkeys, bats, elephants, whales, first horse

India w/ Asia

Himalayas, Antarctica covered in glaciers, sea levels low, Alps

dogs, cats, pigs

Africa pushing into Europe, Alps, Arctic in ice

Grass

Horses, rhinos, camels, beavers, apes, and primates

Africa closes off Mediterranean Sea, N. and S. America join at Panama

First hominids .043% of Earth's life

humans walk upright

2MYA-Present

2 Epochs

Continents arrive at present location

Polar ice sheets extend down into N. America and Europe

Ice Age-caused by Milankovitch cycle or variations in Earth's orbit. (60 cycles in Pliestocene)

Ice Age lowers sea level exposing land masses such as the Bering Straight between Alaska and Siberia

Worldwide spread of hominids 

Extinction of giant mammals and megafauna: mastodons, saber-toothed tigers, mammoths, bison, maybe due to rise in temperature, maybe hunting

Age of Humans

Development of human civilization

Earliest hominid fossils date back to the Tertiary Period and were found in Africa