Earth's Geological Eras

How long ago was the Phanerozoic Eon?

540 million years ago

How long ago was Proterozoic Eon?

2.5 billion years ago-540 million years ago

Quaternary Period:

What was the Eon?

What was the Era?

What happened during the period?

Phanerozoic

Cenozoic

First humans, mammoths, mastodons, and saber toothed cats lived

Neogene Period:

What was the Eon?

What was the Era?

What happened during the period?

Phanerozoic

Cenozoic

Australopithecus appears; first sheep, cattle, modern whales, bears, mice, apes, monkeys, dogs, and modern birds appear

Paleogene Period:

What was the Eon?

What was the Era?

What happened during the period?

Phanerozoic

Cenozoic

First deer, cats, pigs, rhinos, elephants, horses, owls, hedgehogs, and rabbits evolve

Cretaceous Period:

What was the Eon?

What was the Era?

What happened during the period?

Phanerozoic

Mesozoic

First flowering plants, snakes, and crocodilians appear; mass extinction kills off dinosaurs

Jurassic Period:

What was the Eon?

What was the Era?

What happened during the period?

Phanerozoic

Mesozoic

Dinosaurs roamed Earth; first birds appear

Triassic Period:

What was the Eon?

What was the Era?

What happened during the period?

Phanerozoic

Mesozoic

First dinosaurs, mammals, frogs, turtles, and crocodyliforms appear

Permian Period:

What was the Eon?

What was the Era?

What happened during the period?

Phanerozoic

Paleozoic

Sail back reptiles appear; amphibians are abundant; Pangea forms; ends with mass extinction

Carboniferous Period:

What was the Eon?

What was the Era?

What happened during the period?

Phanerozoic

Paleozoic

First reptiles and winged insects appear

Devonian Period:

What was the Eon?

What was the Era?

What happened during the period?

Phanerozoic

Paleozoic

First amphibians, sharks, bony fish, and spiders appear

Silurian Period:

What was the Eon?

What was the Era?

What happened during the period?

Phanerozoic

Paleozoic

First insects and vascular plants appear on land

Ordovician Period:

What was the Eon?

What was the Era?

What happened during the period?

Phanerozoic

Paleozoic

First land plants, corals, and nautiloids appear; ends with mass extinction

Cambrian Period:

What was the Eon?

What was the Era?

What happened during the period?

Phanerozoic

Paleozoic

First shellfish, primitive fish, and mollusks appear

Vendian Period:

What was the Eon?

What was the Era?

What happened during the period?

Proterozoic

Paleozoic

First sponges and multi celled animals appear; Supercontinent Rodinia is formed

Early Proterozoic:

What was the Eon?

What was the Era?

What happened during the period?

Proterozoic

Paleozoic

Oxygen builds up on earth and the first life appears

What do Modern innovations allow Paleontologists to do?

Learn more than ever about fossilized remains

What can paleontologists do to put data into computer models to create two and three dimensional visions of organisms to better understand them?

Use neutron tomography, photogrammetry, microscopes, X rays, Lasers, MRIs, and CT scans

What other techniques do these scientists use?

Radiometric dating, stratigraphic dating, and index fossils to determine how old fossils are

How long ago was the Quaternary Period?

2.58 million years ago-present

How long ago was the Neogene Period?

24 million years ago-1.8 million years ago

How long ago was the Paleogene Period?

65 million years ago-24 million years ago

How long ago was the Cretaceous Period?

146 million years ago-65 million years ago

How long ago was the Jurassic Period?

208 million years ago-146 million years ago

How long ago was the Triassic Period?

245 million-208 million years ago

How long ago was the Permian Period?

299 million to 251 million years ago

how long ago was the Carboniferous period?

360 million years ago-280 million years ago

How long ago was the Devonian Period?

408 million years ago-360 million years ago

How long ago was the Silurian Period?

438 million years ago-408 million years ago

How long ago was the Ordovician Period?

505 million years ago-438 million years ago

How long ago was the Cambrian Period?

540 million years ago-505 million years ago

How long ago was the Vendian Period?

600 million years ago-540 million years ago

How long ago was the Early Proterozoic Period?

2.5 billion years ago-600 million years ago