EON ERA PERIOD EPOCH MA EVENTS

TODAY
HOLOSCENE Modern humans (0.1
ma)
QUARTENARY Nearly all mammals and
PLEISTOCEN birds over 45 lbs.
CENEOZOIC

E disappeared (Late
Pleistocene 0.1 ma)
100 Global ice ages begin (2
PLIOCENE
Ma)
NEOGENE
Inland seas dry up (20
MIOCENE
TERTIARY ma)
OLIGOCENE Dinosaurs and 60 to 80
PALEOGENE EOCENE percent of all species
PALEOCENE (End Cretaceous 65 ma)
CRETACEOUS First birds (150 ma)

200 Pangaea supercontinent

JURASSIC
breaks up (200 ma)
PHANEROZOIC

MESOZOIC

First mammals and

dinosaurs (220 ma)
Ninety percent of all
TRIASSIC species (End Permian
300
250 ma)
Formation of Pangaea
PERMIAN supercontinent (280 ma)
PENNSYLVANIAN
CARBONIFEROUS 400 First reptiles (350 ma)
MISSISSIPIAN
First land plants and
DEVONIAN fish (480 ma)
PALEOZOIC

500
Gondwana forms (500
SILURIAN
ma)
ORDOVICIAN
Some single-celled
animals and soft-bodied
CAMBRIAN 600
animals died(Vendian
543 ma)
PROTEROZOIC

Rodinia supercontinent
NEO- EDIACARAN 700
breaks up (700 ma)
MESO- 800
PALEO- First evidence of soft-
900
bodied animals (900 ma)
1000
1100
1200
1300
1400
1500
 1600
1700
1800
1900
2000
2100
2200
2300
2400
2500
2600
2700
2800
2900
3000
Continents begin
3100
shifting (3,100 ma)
ARCHEAN

3200
3300
3400
3500 Oldest fossils (3,500 ma)
3600
3700
3800
First evidence of life
3900 (3,850 million years ago
[ma])
4000
4100
Formation of the great
HADEAN

4200
oceans (4,200 ma)
4300
4500
4600