REVIEWER FOR QUIZ GENBIO DIVISIONS OF GEOLOGIC TIME SCALE ❖ Oldest known rock ( Acosta Gneiss,

Northwest Territories, Canada;4.0

WEDNESDAY – MARCH 6 2024 Eon – spans of hundreds to thousand of
Ga)
million years
❖ Oldest known mineral grain (Zircon;
Era- spans tens to hundred of millions of 4.4 Ga)
GEOLOGIC TIME SCALE
years
ARCHEAN EON
- System used by scientist to describe
Period – spans no more than one hundred
the timing and relationship between - 4.0 to 2.5 Ga
million years
events in earth’s history - Archaean comes from the Greek
Epoch – the smallest division of the word archaios meaning ancient.
geologic time scale characterized by - Earths crust had cooled enough to
distinctive organisms allow formation of continents and
life began to appear.
HADEANS EON - Surface was dominated by vast
- 4.54 to 4.0 Ga oceans, with little or no oxygen in
- Named after hades, the ancient the atmosphere
Greek god of the underworld - Simple, single-celled organisms like
- Time from the formation of the earth bacteria and archaea were the
to the formation of the first solid dominant life forms
crust ❖ Oldest known fossils (stromatolites
- Intense volcanic activity and formed by prokaryotic
ABBREVIATIONS:
frequent meteor impacts cyanobacteria (blue-green algae);
ka Kilo One- Kya= - Ocean and atmosphere formed 3.5 Ga)
annum thousand thousand during this eon
years years ago PROTEROZOIC EON
- We obtained heat source, magnetic
Ma Mega One Mya= field, and the formation of moon - 2.5 Ga to 541 Ma
annum million million - Proterozoic comes from protero
- Earth coalesced from a cloud of
years years ago
dust into a planet meaning former/earlier and zoion
Ga Giga One- Bya=
meaning animal and its root which
annum billion billion
means life
years years ago
 - Marked a period of considerable
geological, atmospheric, and
biological evolution
- Witnessed the assembly and
breakup of supercontinents towards
the end of the Proterozoic
- Atmosphere’s oxygen levels
increased significantly
❖ First eukaryotes (organism with
complex cells)
❖ First macroscopic multicellular life
(Ediacarans)
❖ First Microscopic multicellular life
(Doushantuo embryos)
PHANEROZOIC EON
- 541 to 0 Ma
- Pahanerozoic from the Greek word
phaneros meaning visible or evident
- Characterized by the presence of
abundant, complex multicellular
life, readily visible in the fossil
record
- This eon is subdivided into three
major eras:
A. PALEOZOIC ERA
- 541 TO 252 Ma
- Characterized by trilobites and the
origin of land plants
- Marine life flourished and the first
vertebrated appeared
- Later, plants colonized the land,
followed by the first terrestrial
animals.
- Trilobites – extinct fossil arthropods
easily recognized by their distinctive
three-lobed, three-segmented form
- Cambrian Explosion – a rapid
diversification of life that led to the
appearance of most of the major
groups of animals.
- The era ended with the largest mass
extinction in Earth’s history, the
Permian-Triassic extinction event
which wiped out approximately 95%
of marine species and 70% of
terrestrial vertebrate species
1. CAMBRIAN PERIOD
- 541 TO 485 Ma
- Known for the significant
evolutionary event, the Cambrian
Explosion
- Cambrian Explosion – sudden
appearance of wide variety of
complex organism with hard parts
such as, shells and exoskeletons.
- Life existed primarily in oceans
- Trilobites were among the dominant
life forms
❖ Seal level rises
❖ Extensive quartz sandstones
deposited in shallow seas
❖ Continent dispersed
2. ORDOVICIAN PERIOD
- 485 to 444 Ma
- Began with a relatively warm climate
but during its later stages, the earth
experienced a cooling trend, leading
to a series of ice ages
- Ordovician-Silurian mass extinction
at the end of the period due to
climate changes, global cooling and
formation of glaciers
- Orthoceras was a new major
species of cephalopod to emerge
during this period
❖ First fungi (Ourasphaira giraldea)
❖ First jawless fish (Agnatha)
❖ First tabulate and rugose corals
❖ Great diversity of trilobite species
❖ First Land Plants ( non-vascular
plants like moss)
❖ Major radiation of animal life in the
oceans known as the great
Ordovician biodiversification event
(GQBE)
 ❖ Proliferation of marine life forms
such as brachiopods, trilobites,
mollusks, and graptolites.
❖ Appearance of wide variety of
marine organisms
EPIFAUNAL: LIVING ON SEAFLOOR
INFAUNAL: BURROWING TYPES
3. SILURIAN PERIOD
- 444 to 419 Ma
- Continents were positioned
differently than they are today
- Many landmasses including a
supercontinent called Gondwana
5. CARBONIFEROUS PERIOD
- Saw the gradual movement of
- 359 to 299 Ma
continents, influencing climate and
- Known for extensive coal swamp
oceanic circulation
forests, which contributed to the
❖ First vascular plants on land
formation of vast coal beds
(Cooksonia and Baragwanathia)
- Evolution of diverse plant life,
❖ First animals on land (Arthropods)
including ferns, horsetails, club
❖ First fish with jaws (Gnathostomes)
mosses, and early seed plants.
❖ First bony fish (Osteichthyes)
- Two subperiods
❖ Sea Scorpion (Eurypterids
4. DEVONIAN PERIOD Mississippian Pennsylvanian
- 419 to 359 Ma Subperiod Subperiod
- Known as “age of fishes”
- Late Devonian Extinction affected 359 to 323 Ma 323 to 299 Ma
reef-building organisms, was
lower or early Upper or late
marked by period of abrupt cooling carboniferous carboniferous
associated with the development of
glaciers and the substantial lowering Climate was relatively Climate during this began
warm and sea levels to shift towards cooler
of sea level were high conditions
❖ First forest
❖ First ammonites Deposition of Continued deposition of
limestones, often rich in sedimentary rocks,
❖ First seed-bearing plants; plants
marine fossils like including coal-bearing
begin to colonize environments crinoids and brachiopods formation
further from water Plants continued to Wide development of
❖ First tetrapods (four-limbed evolve and diversify, with vast swampy
vertebrates) the first appearance of environments
early seed plants
❖ Terrestrial arthropods became
First amniote reptiles
established; first insects and
appeared (hylonomus)
spiders
 6. PERMIAN PERIOD
- 299 TO 252 Ma
- Warm climate but during the later
part of the peiord, the earth
experienced Signiant climatic
fluctuations
- Saw the onset of an ice age, leading
to the development of glaciation in
the southern continents
- Earth landmasses were coming
together to form the supercontinent
Pangaea
- Largest mass extinction known as
Permian-Triassic Extinction or
Great Dying because of
combination of volcanic activity,
climate change and other
environmental factors
❖ Age of dimetrodon
B. MESOZOIC ERA
- 252 to 66
- Called “Age of reptiles” / “Age of
Dinosaurs”
- marked by the dominance of
dinosaurs on land, pterosaurs in the
air, marine reptiles in the oceans
- saw the first birds and mammals, as
well as the appearance and
diversification of flowering plants.
- The Mesozoic ended with the
cretaceous-Paleogene Extinction
event, likely caused by a massive
asteroid impact, leading to the
extinction of the dinosaurs and
many other species.
1. TRIASSIC PERIOD
- 252 to 201 Ma
- Recovery from the mass extinction
event at the end of Permian
- Reptiles continued to dominate the
land and marine life diversified
- Large volcanic eruptions in the
Central Atlantic Magmatic Province
(CAMP) are considered a leading
candidate for triggering
environmental changes that
contributed to the Triassic-Jurassic
extinction
❖ First mammal (Morganucodon)
❖ First dinosaur appeared
(Nyasasaurus parringtoni)
❖ First scleractinian corals
2. JURASSIC PERIOD
- 201 to 145 Ma
- Well-known for the dominance of
dinosaurs
- Time of significant evolution and
diversification of various life forms
- Iconic dinosaurs included the long-
necked Brachiosaurus and
apatosaurus, the carnivorous
allosaurus, and the herbivorous
stegosaurus.
- Marine reptiles, such as
ichthyosaurs and plesiosaurs were
common in the ocean
❖ Initial breakup of Pangaea into
Laurasia and Gondwana
❖ Plan life included ferns, cycads and
conifers
❖ First bird (Archaeopteryx)
❖ First appearance of flowering plants
(angiosperms) occurred
3. CRETACEOUS PERIOD
- 145 TO 66 Ma
- Diversification and dominance of
various groups of organisms,
including dinosaurs, marine reptiles
and flowering plants
- Saw the rapid expansion and
diversification of angiosperms, or
flowering plants
- Cretaceous-Paleogene Extinction
led to the extinction of
approximately 75% of earth’s
species, including non-avian
dinosaurs.
- likely caused of this mass extinction
is the combination of asteroid
impact and volcanic activity
 NEOGENE PEIOD: 23 to 2.6 Ma
C. CENOZOIC ERA
- 66 to 0 mya
- Known as the “age of mammals”
- Characterized by the diversification of
mammals, following the extinction of
dinosaurs
- Climate cooled significantly, leading to
several glacial periods, especially in
the later part
- Witnessed the spread of flowering
TERTIARY DIVIDED INTO 5 EPOCHS
plants and the evolution of many
groups of animals, including the rise of
humans within the last few million
years
1. TERTIARY PERIOD
- 66 to 2.6 Ma
- Collective name for the first two
periods in the Cenozoic era
PALEOGENE PERIOD: 66 to 23 Ma
- Mammals underwent significant
diversification and evolution during
this time, taking advantage of the
ecological niches left vacant by the
extinction of many dinosaurs. The
early primates, ancestors of modern
mammals, also appeared during the
Peleogene.
- Evolution of mammals continued,
including the appearance of modern
forms of animals such as horses,
elephants, and various types of
hominids (ancestors of humans).
The climate during the Neogene
underwent significant fluctuations,
including periods of warmth and
cooling
1. Paleocene (66 to 56 Ma): This
epoch began after the mass
extinction event that marked the end
of the Cretaceous Period. During the
Paleocene, mammals diversified
and adapted to various ecological
niches.
2. Eocene (56 to 33.9 Ma): This epoch
is known for the continued
diversification and expansion of
mammals, as well as the
appearance of early primates. The
climate was generally warm, and
there was a significant amount of
floral and faunal evolution.
3. Oligocene (33.9 to 23 Ma): During
the Oligocene, the climate became
cooler and drier. There was a shift in
mammalian fauna, with the decline
of some groups and the rise of
others. The first appearance of some
modern plant and animal groups
occurred during this epoch.
4. Miocene (23 to 5.3 Ma): The
Miocene is marked by further
diversification of mammals,
including the evolution of early
hominids (ancestors of humans).
Climate changes during this period
led to the development of
grasslands, influencing the
evolution of herbivores.
5. Pliocene (5.3 to 2.6 Ma): The
Pliocene saw further evolutionary
developments in mammals,
including hominids. The climate
continued to fluctuate, and by the
end of the Pliocene, the world was
entering the Pleistocene Epoch,
marked by the onset of extensive
glaciations
2. QUATERNARY PERIOD
- 2.6 to 0 Ma
- It is the most recent geological
period characterized by the
presence of extensive glaciations
and repeated cycles of ice ages and
interglacial periods.
Quaternary is divided into two epochs:

1. Pleistocene (2.6 Ma - 11.7 ka): This

epoch is marked by the presence of large
ice sheets and glaciers, covering significant
portions of the Earth's surface, followed by
warmer periods. Many species of mammals,
including early humans, evolved and
adapted to the changing climate and
environments during this epoch.

2. Holocene (11.700 ka - present): It began

with the end of the last major ice age, and it
represents the relatively stable and warm
period in which human civilization
developed. It encompasses the entirety of
recorded human history, including the rise
of agriculture, the development of cities,
and the growth of modern civilizations. It is
characterized by a relatively stable climate.