View source for Biology:Timeline of the evolutionary history of life

{{Short description|Major events during the development of life}}
{{Life timeline}}
The '''timeline of the evolutionary history of life''' represents the current [[Scientific theory|scientific theory]] outlining the major events during the development of life on planet [[Astronomy:Earth|Earth]]. Dates in this article are consensus estimates based on [[Scientific evidence|scientific evidence]], mainly [[Biology:Fossil|fossil]]s.

In [[Biology:Biology|biology]], [[Biology:Evolution|evolution]] is any change across successive generations in the heritable characteristics of biological populations. Evolutionary processes give rise to diversity at every level of biological organization, from [[Biology:Kingdom|kingdoms]] to [[Biology:Species|species]], and individual organisms and [[Physics:Molecule|molecule]]s, such as [[Biology:DNA|DNA]] and [[Biology:Protein|protein]]s. The similarities between all present day organisms imply a [[Biology:Common descent|common ancestor]] from which all known species, living and [[Biology:Extinction|extinct]], have diverged. More than 99 percent of all species that ever lived (over five billion)<ref name="Book-Biology">{{harvnb|McKinney|1997|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=4LHnCAAAQBAJ&pg=PA110 110]}}</ref> are estimated to be [[Biology:Extinction event|extinct]].<ref name="StearnsStearns2000">{{cite book |last1=Stearns |first1=Beverly Peterson |last2=Stearns |first2=S. C. |last3=Stearns |first3=Stephen C. |title=Watching, from the Edge of Extinction |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0BHeC-tXIB4C&q=99%20percent |year=2000 |publisher=Yale University Press |isbn=978-0-300-08469-6|page=preface x |access-date=30 May 2017 }}</ref><ref name="NYT-20141108-MJN">{{cite news |last=Novacek |first=Michael J. |date=November 8, 2014 |title=Prehistory's Brilliant Future |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/09/opinion/sunday/prehistorys-brilliant-future.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220101/https://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/09/opinion/sunday/prehistorys-brilliant-future.html |archive-date=2022-01-01 |url-access=limited |newspaper={{wipe|The New York Times}} |location=New York |issn=0362-4331 |access-date=2014-12-25}}{{cbignore}}</ref> Estimates on the number of Earth's current species range from 10 million to 14 million,<ref name="MillerSpoolman2012">{{harvnb|Miller|Spoolman|2012|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=NYEJAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA62 62]}}</ref> with about 1.2 million or 14% documented, the rest not yet described.<ref name="PLoS-20110823">{{cite journal |last1=Mora |first1=Camilo |last2=Tittensor |first2=Derek P. |last3=Adl |first3=Sina |last4=Simpson |first4=Alastair G. B. |last5=Worm |first5=Boris |display-authors=3 |date=August 23, 2011 |title=How Many Species Are There on Earth and in the Ocean? |journal=[[Biology:PLOS Biology|PLOS Biology]] |volume=9 |issue=8 |page=e1001127 |doi=10.1371/journal.pbio.1001127 |issn=1545-7885 |pmc=3160336 |pmid=21886479 |doi-access=free }}</ref> However, a 2016 report estimates an additional 1 trillion microbial species, with only 0.001% described.<ref name="NSF-2016002">{{cite news |author=Staff |title=Researchers find that Earth may be home to 1 trillion species |url=https://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=138446 |date=2 May 2016 |work=[[Organization:National Science Foundation|National Science Foundation]] |access-date=11 April 2018 }}</ref>

There has been controversy between more traditional views of steadily increasing [[Biology:Biodiversity|biodiversity]], and a newer view of cycles of annihilation and diversification, so that certain past times, such as the [[Earth:Cambrian explosion|Cambrian explosion]], experienced maximums of diversity followed by sharp winnowing.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.as.wvu.edu/~kgarbutt/EvolutionPage/Studentsites/Burgesspages/models_of_evolution.html |title=The Burgess Shale & Models of Evolution |last1=Hickman |first1=Crystal |last2=Starn |first2=Autumn |website=Reconstructions of the Burgess Shale and What They Mean... |publisher=[[Organization:West Virginia University|West Virginia University]] |location=Morgantown, WV |access-date=2015-10-18}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Barton|Briggs|Eisen|Goldstein|2007|loc=[http://www.evolution-textbook.org/content/free/figures/10_EVOW_Art/20_EVOW_CH10.pdf Figure 10.20]}} Four diagrams of evolutionary models</ref>

== Extinction ==
{{Main|Biology:Extinction event}}
[[File:Geological time spiral.png|thumb|right|240px|Visual representation of the history of life on Earth as a spiral]]
Species go extinct constantly as environments change, as organisms compete for environmental niches, and as genetic mutation leads to the rise of new species from older ones. At long irregular intervals, Earth's biosphere suffers a catastrophic die-off, a mass extinction,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://cosmosmagazine.com/palaeontology/measuring-sixth-mass-extinction|title=Measuring the sixth mass extinction - Cosmos|website=cosmosmagazine.com}}</ref> often comprising an accumulation of smaller extinction events over a relatively brief period.<ref name="bbc.co.uk">{{Cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/history_of_the_earth |title=History of life on Earth |access-date=2016-08-09 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160816103516/http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/history_of_the_earth |archive-date=2016-08-16 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

The first known mass extinction was the [[Earth:Great Oxidation Event|Great Oxidation Event]] 2.4 billion years ago, which killed most of the planet's [[Biology:Obligate anaerobe|obligate anaerobe]]s. Researchers have identified five other major extinction events in Earth's history, with estimated losses below:<ref>{{cite web|url=https://cosmosmagazine.com/palaeontology/big-five-extinctions|title=The big five mass extinctions - Cosmos|website=cosmosmagazine.com|date=5 July 2015}}</ref>

*[[Earth:Late Ordovician mass extinction|End Ordovician]]: 440 million years ago, 86% of all species lost, including [[Biology:Graptolite|graptolite]]s
*[[Earth:Late Devonian extinction|Late Devonian]]: 375 million years ago, 75% of species lost, including most [[Biology:Trilobite|trilobite]]s
*[[Earth:Permian–Triassic extinction event|End Permian]], The Great Dying: 251 million years ago, 96% of species lost, including tabulate corals, and most trees and [[Biology:Synapsid|synapsid]]s
*[[Biology:Triassic–Jurassic extinction event|End Triassic]]: 200 million years ago, 80% of species lost, including all [[Biology:Conodont|conodont]]s
*[[Earth:Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event|End Cretaceous]]: 66 million years ago, 76% of species lost, including all [[Biology:Ammonite|ammonite]]s, [[Biology:Mosasaur|mosasaur]]s, [[Biology:Plesiosaur|plesiosaur]]s, [[Biology:Pterosaur|pterosaur]]s, and nonavian [[Biology:Dinosaur|dinosaur]]s

Smaller extinction events have occurred in the periods between, with some dividing [[Earth:Geologic time scale|geologic time]] periods and epochs. The [[Earth:Holocene extinction|Holocene extinction]] event is currently under way.<ref name="pnas98_1">
{{cite journal
 |title= The biotic crisis and the future of evolution
 |journal= Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.
 |volume= 98 |issue= 1 |pages= 5389–5392
 |bibcode= 2001PNAS...98.5389M |doi= 10.1073/pnas.091092498
 |issn= 0027-8424 |pmc= 33223 |pmid= 11344283
|doi-access= free }}
</ref>

Factors in mass extinctions include [[Earth:Continental drift|continental drift]], changes in atmospheric and marine [[Chemistry:Chemistry|chemistry]], volcanism and other aspects of [[Earth:Mountain formation|mountain formation]], changes in glaciation, changes in [[Sea level|sea level]], and [[Astronomy:Impact event|impact event]]s.<ref name="bbc.co.uk"/>

== Detailed timeline ==
In this timeline, '''Ma''' (for ''megaannum'') means "million years ago," '''ka''' (for ''kiloannum'') means "thousand years ago," and '''ya''' means "years ago."

=== Hadean Eon ===
[[File:FullMoon2010.jpg|thumb|right|240px|[[Astronomy:Moon|Moon]] ]]
{{Main|Earth:Hadean}}
4540 Ma – 4000 Ma

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Date
! Event
|- valign="TOP"
| align="RIGHT" nowrap | 4540 Ma
| Planet Earth forms from the accretion disc revolving around the young [[Astronomy:Sun|Sun]], perhaps preceded by formation of [[Chemistry:Organic compound|organic compound]]s necessary for life in the surrounding [[Astronomy:Protoplanetary disk|protoplanetary disk]] of [[Astronomy:Cosmic dust|cosmic dust]].<ref name="Space-20120329">{{cite news |last= Moskowitz |first= Clara |date= March 29, 2012 |title= Life's Building Blocks May Have Formed in Dust Around Young Sun |url= http://www.space.com/15089-life-building-blocks-young-sun-dust.html |work= Space.com |location= Salt Lake City, UT |publisher= Purch |access-date= 2012-03-30}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |title=The age of the Earth in the twentieth century: a problem (mostly) solved |url=https://www.lyellcollection.org/doi/10.1144/GSL.SP.2001.190.01.14 |access-date=2022-10-03 |journal=Geological Society, London, Special Publications |year=2001 |language=en |doi=10.1144/gsl.sp.2001.190.01.14|last1=Dalrymple |first1=G. Brent |volume=190 |issue=1 |pages=205–221 |bibcode=2001GSLSP.190..205D |s2cid=130092094 }}</ref>
|- valign="TOP"
| align="RIGHT" nowrap | 4510 Ma
|- valign="TOP"
| align="RIGHT" nowrap | 4404 Ma
| Evidence of the [[Earth:Origin of water on Earth#History of water on Earth|first liquid water]] on Earth which were found in the oldest known [[Chemistry:Zircon|zircon]] crystals.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Wilde |first1=Simon A. |last2=Valley |first2=John W. |last3=Peck |first3=William H. |last4=Graham |first4=Colin M. |date=January 11, 2001 |title=Evidence from detrital zircons for the existence of continental crust and oceans on the Earth 4.4 Gyr ago |url=https://websites.pmc.ucsc.edu/~pkoch/EART_206/09-0113/Wilde%20et%2001%20Nature%20409-175.pdf |journal=Nature |language=en |volume=409 |issue=6817 |pages=175–178 |doi=10.1038/35051550 |pmid=11196637 |s2cid=4319774 |issn=1476-4687}}</ref>
|- valign="TOP"
| align="RIGHT" nowrap="" | 4280–3770 Ma
</ref><ref name="4.3b oldest">
{{cite news
 |last1= Dunham |first1= Will
 |title= Canadian bacteria-like fossils called oldest evidence of life
 |url= http://ca.reuters.com/article/topNews/idCAKBN16858B?sp=true
 |date= 1 March 2017 |work= Reuters |access-date= 1 March 2017
}}
</ref>

|}

=== Archean Eon ===
{{Main|Earth:Archean}}
[[File:Acasta gneiss.jpg|thumb|right|240px|Fragment of the Acasta Gneiss exhibited at the Museum of Natural History in Vienna]]
[[File:Cyanobacterial-algal mat.jpg|thumb|right|240px|The cyanobacterial-algal mat, salty lake on the White Sea seaside]]
[[File:Halobacteria.jpg|thumb|right|240px|''[[Biology:Halobacterium|Halobacterium]]'' sp. strain NRC-1]]

4000 Ma &ndash; 2500 Ma

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Date
! Event
|-
|4100 Ma
|Earliest possible preservation of biogenic carbon.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2015-10-19 |title=4.1-billion-year-old crystal may hold earliest signs of life |url=https://www.sciencenews.org/article/41-billion-year-old-crystal-may-hold-earliest-signs-life |access-date=2023-08-08 |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Bell |first1=Elizabeth A. |last2=Boehnke |first2=Patrick |last3=Harrison |first3=T. Mark |last4=Mao |first4=Wendy L. |date=2015-11-24 |title=Potentially biogenic carbon preserved in a 4.1 billion-year-old zircon |journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences |language=en |volume=112 |issue=47 |pages=14518–14521 |doi=10.1073/pnas.1517557112 |issn=0027-8424 |pmc=4664351 |pmid=26483481 |bibcode=2015PNAS..11214518B |doi-access=free }}</ref>
|- valign="TOP"
| align="RIGHT" nowrap | 4100–3800 Ma
| [[Astronomy:Late Heavy Bombardment|Late Heavy Bombardment]] (LHB): extended barrage by meteoroids [[Astronomy:Impact event|impacting]] the inner planets. Thermal flux from widespread hydrothermal activity during the LHB may have aided abiogenesis and life's early diversification.<ref>{{cite journal |last1= Abramov |first1= Oleg |last2=Mojzsis |first2=Stephen J. |date=May 21, 2009 |title=Microbial habitability of the Hadean Earth during the late heavy bombardment |url=http://isotope.colorado.edu/2009_Abramov_Mojzsis_Nature.pdf |journal=Nature |volume=459 |issue=7245 |pages=419–422 |bibcode=2009Natur.459..419A |doi=10.1038/nature08015 |issn=0028-0836 |pmid=19458721 |s2cid=3304147 |access-date=2015-03-04 }}</ref>  Possible remains of [[Chemistry:Biotic material|biotic life]] were found in 4.1 billion-year-old rocks in Western Australia.<ref name="AP-20151019">{{cite news |last= Borenstein |first=Seth |title=Hints of life on what was thought to be desolate early Earth |url= http://apnews.excite.com/article/20151019/us-sci--earliest_life-a400435d0d.html |date= October 19, 2015 |work= [[Company:Excite (web portal)|Excite]] |location= Yonkers, NY |publisher= Mindspark Interactive Network |agency=Associated Press |access-date=2015-10-20}}</ref><ref name="PNAS-20151014-pdf">{{cite journal |last1= Bell |first1= Elizabeth A. |last2= Boehnike |first2=Patrick |last3=Harrison |first3=T. Mark |last4=Mao |first4=Wendy L. |display-authors=3 |date= November 24, 2015 |title= Potentially biogenic carbon preserved in a 4.1 billion-year-old zircon |url= http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2015/10/14/1517557112.full.pdf |journal=Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. |volume= 112 |issue= 47 |pages= 14518–14521 |doi=10.1073/pnas.1517557112 |issn=0027-8424 |access-date= 2015-12-30 |pmid=26483481 |pmc=4664351|bibcode=2015PNAS..11214518B |doi-access=free }}</ref> Probable origin of life.
|- valign="TOP"
| align="RIGHT" nowrap | 4000 Ma
| Formation of a [[Earth:Greenstone belt|greenstone belt]] of the [[Earth:Acasta Gneiss|Acasta Gneiss]] of the Slave craton in northwest Canada - the oldest known rock belt.<ref name="Bjornerud">{{harvnb|Bjornerud|2005}}</ref>
|- valign="TOP"
| align="RIGHT" nowrap | 3900–2500 Ma
|- valign="TOP"
| align="RIGHT" nowrap | 3800 Ma
|- valign="TOP"
| align="RIGHT" nowrap | 3800–3500 Ma

Bacteria develop primitive [[Earth:Photosynthesis|photosynthesis]], which at first did not produce [[Chemistry:Oxygen|oxygen]].<ref>{{cite journal |last= Olson |first= John M. |date= May 2006 |title= Photosynthesis in the Archean era |journal= Photosynthesis Research |volume= 88 |issue= 2 |pages= 109–117 |doi= 10.1007/s11120-006-9040-5 |issn= 0166-8595 |pmid=16453059 |bibcode= 2006PhoRe..88..109O |s2cid=20364747 }}</ref> These organisms exploit a [[Biology:Electrochemical gradient|proton gradient]] to generate [[Chemistry:Adenosine triphosphate|adenosine triphosphate]] (ATP), a mechanism used by virtually all subsequent organisms.<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.nature.com/scitable/topicpage/why-are-cells-powered-by-proton-gradients-14373960|title=Proton Gradient, Cell Origin, ATP Synthase - Learn Science at Scitable|website= www.nature.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1= Romano |first1= Antonio H. |last2= Conway |first2= Tyrrell |date= July–September 1996 |title= Evolution of carbohydrate metabolic pathways |journal= Research in Microbiology |volume= 147 |issue=6–7 |pages=448–455 |doi=10.1016/0923-2508(96)83998-2 |issn=0923-2508 |pmid=9084754 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last=Knowles |first=Jeremy R. |date=July 1980 |title= Enzyme-Catalyzed Phosphoryl Transfer Reactions |journal=[[Chemistry:Annual Review of Biochemistry|Annual Review of Biochemistry]] |volume=49 |pages= 877–919 |doi=10.1146/annurev.bi.49.070180.004305 |issn=0066-4154 |pmid=6250450 }}</ref>
|- valign="TOP"
| align="RIGHT" nowrap | 3000 Ma
| Photosynthesizing [[Biology:Cyanobacteria|cyanobacteria]] using water as a [[Chemistry:Reducing agent|reducing agent]] and producing oxygen as a waste product.<ref name="Buick, R. 2008">{{cite journal |last= Buick |first= Roger |date= August 27, 2008 |title= When did oxygenic photosynthesis evolve? |journal= [[Organization:Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B|Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B]] |volume= 363 |issue= 1504 |pages=2731–2743 |doi=10.1098/rstb.2008.0041 |issn= 0962-8436 |pmc=2606769 |pmid=18468984 }}</ref> Free oxygen initially oxidizes dissolved iron in the oceans, creating [[Earth:Iron ore|iron ore]]. Oxygen concentration in the atmosphere slowly rises, [[Chemistry:Poison|poison]]ing many bacteria and eventually triggering the [[Earth:Great Oxygenation Event|Great Oxygenation Event]].
|- valign="TOP"
| align="RIGHT" nowrap | 2800 Ma
| Oldest evidence for microbial life on land in the form of organic matter-rich [[Earth:Paleosol|paleosol]]s, [[Earth:Vernal pool|ephemeral ponds]] and [[Earth:Alluvium|alluvial]] sequences, some bearing [[Biology:Micropaleontology|microfossils]].<ref name="Beraldi-Campesi">{{cite journal |last=Beraldi-Campesi |first=Hugo |date= February 23, 2013 |title=Early life on land and the first terrestrial ecosystems |url= http://www.ecologicalprocesses.com/content/pdf/2192-1709-2-1.pdf |journal= Ecological Processes |volume= 2 |issue=1 |page=4 |doi=10.1186/2192-1709-2-1 |s2cid=44199693 |issn=2192-1709 |doi-access= free |bibcode=2013EcoPr...2....1B }}</ref>
|}

=== Proterozoic Eon ===
[[File:Endomembrane system diagram en (edit).svg|thumb|right|240px|Detail of the [[Biology:Eukaryote|eukaryote]] endomembrane system and its components]]
[[File:Ceratium furca.jpg|thumb|right|240px|Dinoflagellate ''[[Biology:Ceratium furca|Ceratium furca]]'']]
[[File:Mikrofoto.de-Blepharisma japonicum 15.jpg|thumb|right|240px|''[[Biology:Blepharisma japonicum|Blepharisma japonicum]]'', a free-living ciliated protozoan]]
[[File:DickinsoniaCostata.jpg|thumb|right|240px|''[[Biology:Dickinsonia|Dickinsonia costata]]'', an iconic Ediacaran organism, displays the characteristic quilted appearance of Ediacaran enigmata.]]
{{Main|Earth:Proterozoic}}
2500 Ma &ndash; 539 Ma. Contains the Palaeoproterozoic, [[Earth:Mesoproterozoic|Mesoproterozoic]] and [[Earth:Neoproterozoic|Neoproterozoic]] eras.

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Date
! Event
|- valign="TOP"
| align="RIGHT" nowrap | 2500 Ma
|[[Earth:Great Oxidation Event|Great Oxidation Event]] led by cyanobacteria's oxygenic photosynthesis.<ref name="Buick, R. 2008" /> Commencement of [[Earth:Plate tectonics|plate tectonics]] with old marine crust dense enough to [[Earth:Subduction|subduct]].<ref name="Bjornerud" />
|- valign="TOP"
| align="RIGHT" nowrap |2023 Ma
|Formation of the [[Earth:Vredefort impact structure|Vredefort impact structure]], one of the largest and oldest verified impact structures on Earth. The crater is estimated to have been between {{convert|170-300|km|mi}} across when it first formed.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Huber |first1=M. S. |last2=Kovaleva |first2=E. |last3=Rae |first3=A. S. P |last4=Tisato |first4=N. |last5=Gulick |first5=S. P. S |date=August 2023 |title=Can Archean Impact Structures Be Discovered? A Case Study From Earth's Largest, Most Deeply Eroded Impact Structure |journal=Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets |volume=128 |issue=8 |doi=10.1029/2022JE007721 |issn=2169-9097 |doi-access=free|bibcode=2023JGRE..12807721H }}</ref>
|- valign="TOP"
| align="RIGHT" nowrap | By 1850 Ma
|- valign="TOP"
| align="RIGHT" nowrap | 1500 Ma
|[[Biology:Volyn biota|Volyn biota]], a collection of exceptionally well-preserved microfossils with varying morphologies.<ref name=fra2022>{{cite journal |author=Franz G., Lyckberg P., Khomenko V., Chournousenko V., Schulz H.-M., Mahlstedt N., Wirth R., Glodny J., Gernert U., Nissen J. |title=Fossilization of Precambrian microfossils in the Volyn pegmatite, Ukraine |journal=Biogeosciences |volume=19 |issue=6 |date=2022 |pages=1795–1811 |doi=10.5194/bg-19-1795-2022 |bibcode=2022BGeo...19.1795F |url=https://bg.copernicus.org/articles/19/1795/2022/bg-19-1795-2022.pdf |doi-access=free }}</ref>
|- valign="TOP"
| align="RIGHT" nowrap | 1300 Ma
| Earliest land [[Biology:Fungus|fungi]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://science.psu.edu/news-and-events/2001-news/Hedges8-2001.htm |title=First Land Plants and Fungi Changed Earth's Climate, Paving the Way for Explosive Evolution of Land Animals, New Gene Study Suggests |work=science.psu.edu |access-date=10 April 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180408205932/http://science.psu.edu/news-and-events/2001-news/Hedges8-2001.htm |archive-date=2018-04-08 |url-status=dead |quote=The researchers found that land plants had evolved on Earth by about 700 million years ago and land fungi by about 1,300 million years ago — much earlier than previous estimates of around 480 million years ago, which were based on the earliest fossils of those organisms.}}</ref>
|- valign="TOP"
| align="RIGHT" nowrap | By 1200 Ma
| [[Biology:Meiosis|Meiosis]] and [[Biology:Sex|sexual reproduction]] in single-celled eukaryotes, possibly even in the common ancestor of all eukaryotes<ref>{{harvnb|Bernstein|Bernstein|Michod|2012|pp=1–50}}</ref> or in the RNA world.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Bernstein |first1=Harris |last2=Byerly |first2=Henry C. |last3=Hopf |first3=Frederic A. |last4=Michod |first4=Richard E. |date=October 7, 1984 |title=Origin of sex |journal=[[Biology:Journal of Theoretical Biology|Journal of Theoretical Biology]] |volume=110 |issue=3 |pages=323–351 |doi=10.1016/S0022-5193(84)80178-2 |issn=0022-5193 |pmid=6209512 |bibcode=1984JThBi.110..323B }}</ref> [[Biology:Evolution of sexual reproduction|Sexual reproduction]] may have increased the rate of evolution.<ref name="dateref">{{cite journal |last=Butterfield |first=Nicholas J. |date=Summer 2000 |title=''Bangiomorpha pubescens'' n. gen., n. sp.: implications for the evolution of sex, multicellularity, and the Mesoproterozoic/Neoproterozoic radiation of eukaryotes |url=http://paleobiol.geoscienceworld.org/content/26/3/386.abstract |journal=Paleobiology |volume=26 |issue=3 |pages=386–404 |doi=10.1666/0094-8373(2000)026<0386:BPNGNS>2.0.CO;2 |s2cid=36648568 |issn=0094-8373 }}</ref>
|- valign="TOP"
| align='RIGHT' nowrap | By 1000 Ma
| First non-marine eukaryotes move onto land. They were photosynthetic and multicellular, indicating that plants evolved much earlier than originally thought.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Earth's earliest non-marine eukaryotes |journal=Nature |volume=473 |issue=7348 |pages=505–509 |doi=10.1038/nature09943 |pmid=21490597 |date=26 May 2011|bibcode=2011Natur.473..505S |last1=Strother |first1=Paul K. |last2=Battison |first2=Leila |last3=Brasier |first3=Martin D. |last4=Wellman |first4=Charles H. |s2cid=4418860 }}</ref>
|- valign="TOP'
| align="RIGHT" nowrap | 750 Ma
|- valign="TOP"
| align="RIGHT" nowrap | 720&ndash;630 Ma
|-
| align="RIGHT" nowrap | 600 Ma
| Accumulation of atmospheric oxygen allows the formation of an [[Physics:Ozone layer|ozone layer]].<ref name="Formation of the Ozone Layer">{{cite web |url=http://disc.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/ozone/additional/science-focus/about-ozone/ozone_formation.shtml |title=Formation of the Ozone Layer |date=September 9, 2009 |work=Goddard Earth Sciences Data and Information Services Center |publisher=NASA |access-date=2013-05-26}}</ref> Previous land-based life would probably have required other chemicals to attenuate [[Physics:Ultraviolet|ultraviolet]] radiation.<ref name="Beraldi-Campesi" />
|- valign="TOP"
| align="Right" nowrap | 580&ndash;542 Ma
| [[Earth:Ediacaran biota|Ediacaran biota]], the first large, complex aquatic multicellular organisms.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://geol.queensu.ca/people/narbonne/recent_pubs1.html |title=The Origin and Early Evolution of Animals |last=Narbonne |first=Guy |date=January 2008 |publisher=Queen's University |location=Kingston, Ontario, Canada |access-date=2007-03-10 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150724081804/http://geol.queensu.ca/people/narbonne/recent_pubs1.html |archive-date=2015-07-24 }}</ref>
|- valign="TOP"
| align="RIGHT" nowrap | 580&ndash;500 Ma
| [[Earth:Cambrian explosion|Cambrian explosion]]: most modern animal [[Biology:Phylum|phyla]] appear.<ref name="BerkeleyCambrian">{{cite web |url=http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/cambrian/cambrian.php |title=The Cambrian Period |last1=Waggoner |first1=Ben M. |last2=Collins |first2=Allen G. |last3=Hsu |first3=Karen |last4=Kang |first4=Myun |last5=Lavarias |first5=Amy |last6=Prabaker |first6=Kavitha |last7=Skaggs |first7=Cody |date=November 22, 1994 |editor1-last=Rieboldt |editor1-first=Sarah |editor2-last=Smith |editor2-first=Dave |website=Tour of geologic time |publisher=University of California Museum of Paleontology |location=Berkeley, CA |type=Online exhibit |display-authors=2 |access-date=2015-03-09}}</ref><ref name="BristolUCEtiming">{{cite web |url=http://palaeo.gly.bris.ac.uk/Palaeofiles/Cambrian/timing/timing.html |title=Timing |last=Lane |first=Abby |date=January 20, 1999 |website=The Cambrian Explosion |publisher=[[Organization:University of Bristol|University of Bristol]] |location=Bristol, England |access-date=2015-03-09}}</ref>
|- valign="TOP"
| align="RIGHT" nowrap | 550&ndash;540 Ma
| [[Biology:Ctenophora|Ctenophora]] (comb jellies),<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Chen |first1=Jun-Yuan |last2=Schopf |first2=J. William |last3=Bottjer |first3=David J. |last4=Zhang |first4=Chen-Yu |last5=Kudryavtsev |first5=Anatoliy B. |last6=Tripathi |first6=Abhishek B. |last7=Wang |first7=Xiu-Qiang |last8=Yang |first8=Yong-Hua |last9=Gao |first9=Xiang |last10=Yang |first10=Ying |date=2007-04-10 |title=Raman spectra of a Lower Cambrian ctenophore embryo from southwestern Shaanxi, China |journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America |volume=104 |issue=15 |pages=6289–6292 |doi=10.1073/pnas.0701246104 |issn=0027-8424 |pmc=1847456 |pmid=17404242|bibcode=2007PNAS..104.6289C |doi-access=free }}</ref> [[Biology:Sponge|Porifera]] (sponges),<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Müller |first1=W. E. G. |last2=Jinhe Li |last3=Schröder |first3=H. C. |last4=Li Qiao |last5=Xiaohong Wang |date=2007-05-03 |title=The unique skeleton of siliceous sponges (Porifera; Hexactinellida and Demospongiae) that evolved first from the Urmetazoa during the Proterozoic: a review |url=https://bg.copernicus.org/articles/4/219/2007/ |journal=Biogeosciences |language=English |volume=4 |issue=2 |pages=219–232 |doi=10.5194/bg-4-219-2007 |bibcode=2007BGeo....4..219M |s2cid=15471191 |issn=1726-4170|doi-access=free }}</ref> [[Biology:Anthozoa|Anthozoa]] ([[Biology:Coral|coral]]s and [[Biology:Sea anemone|sea anemone]]s),<ref>{{Cite web |date=2018-12-11 |title=Corals and sea anemones (anthozoa) |url=https://nationalzoo.si.edu/animals/corals-and-sea-anemones-anthozoa |access-date=2022-09-24 |website=Smithsonian's National Zoo |language=en}}</ref> ''[[Biology:Ikaria wariootia|Ikaria wariootia]]'' (an early [[Biology:Bilateria|Bilateria]]n).<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Grazhdankin |first=Dima |date=February 8, 2016 |title=Patterns of distribution in the Ediacaran biotas: facies versus biogeography and evolution |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/paleobiology/article/abs/patterns-of-distribution-in-the-ediacaran-biotas-facies-versus-biogeography-and-evolution/E1A8C6052128EB081CB260731B5628A6 |journal=Paleobiology |language=en |volume=30 |issue=2 |pages=203–221 |doi=10.1666/0094-8373(2004)030<0203:PODITE>2.0.CO;2 |s2cid=129376371 |issn=0094-8373}}</ref>
|}

=== Phanerozoic Eon ===
{{Main|Earth:Phanerozoic}}
539 Ma &ndash; present

The [[Earth:Phanerozoic|Phanerozoic]] Eon (Greek: period of well-displayed life) marks the appearance in the fossil record of abundant, shell-forming and/or trace-making organisms. It is subdivided into three eras, the [[Earth:Paleozoic|Paleozoic]], [[Earth:Mesozoic|Mesozoic]] and [[Earth:Cenozoic|Cenozoic]], with major mass extinctions at division points.

==== Palaeozoic Era ====
{{Main|Earth:Paleozoic}}
538.8 Ma &ndash; 251.9 Ma and contains the [[Earth:Cambrian|Cambrian]], [[Earth:Ordovician|Ordovician]], [[Earth:Silurian|Silurian]], [[Earth:Devonian|Devonian]], [[Earth:Carboniferous|Carboniferous]] and [[Earth:Permian|Permian]] periods.
[[File:Nautilus profile.jpg|240px|thumb|With only a handful of species surviving today, the [[Biology:Nautiloid|Nautiloid]]s flourished during the early Paleozoic era, from the Late Cambrian, where they constituted the main predatory animals.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Lindgren |first1=A.R. |last2=Giribet |first2=G. |last3=Nishiguchi |first3=M.K. |title=A combined approach to the phylogeny of Cephalopoda (Mollusca) |journal=Cladistics |date=2004 |volume=20 |issue=5 |pages=454–486 |url=http://faculty.uml.edu/rhochberg/hochberglab/Courses/InvertZool/Cephalopod%20phylogeny.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150210223626/http://faculty.uml.edu/rhochberg/hochberglab/Courses/InvertZool/Cephalopod%20phylogeny.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=2015-02-10 |doi=10.1111/j.1096-0031.2004.00032.x |pmid=34892953 |citeseerx=10.1.1.693.2026 |s2cid=85975284 }}</ref>]] 
[[File:Haikouichthys 3d.png|240px|thumb|''[[Biology:Haikouichthys|Haikouichthys]]'', a jawless fish, is popularized as one of the earliest fishes and probably a basal chordate or a basal craniate.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.palaeos.com/Paleozoic/Cambrian/Cambrian.2.html |title=Palaeos Paleozoic: Cambrian: The Cambrian Period - 2 |access-date=2009-04-20 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090429021119/http://www.palaeos.com/Paleozoic/Cambrian/Cambrian.2.html |archive-date=2009-04-29 }}</ref> ]]
[[File:Sa-fern.jpg|240px|thumb|Ferns first appear in the fossil record about 360 million years ago in the late Devonian period.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/plants/pterophyta/pteridofr.html |title=Pteridopsida: Fossil Record |publisher=University of California Museum of Paleontology | access-date=2014-03-11 }}</ref>]]
[[File:Dimetrodon grandis 3D Model Reconstruction.png|thumb|240px|Synapsids such as ''Dimetrodon'' were the largest terrestrial vertebrates in the Permian period, 299 to 251 million years ago.]]
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Date
! Event
|- valign="TOP"
| align="RIGHT" nowrap | 535 Ma
| [[Earth:Cambrian explosion|Major diversification]] of living things in the oceans: [[Biology:Arthropod|arthropod]]s (e.g. trilobites, [[Biology:Crustacean|crustacean]]s), chordates, [[Biology:Echinoderm|echinoderm]]s, [[Biology:Mollusca|mollusc]]s, [[Biology:Brachiopod|brachiopod]]s, [[Biology:Foraminifera|foraminifers]] and [[Biology:Radiolaria|radiolaria]]ns, etc.
|- valign="TOP"
| align="RIGHT" nowrap | 530 Ma
| The first known footprints on land date to 530 Ma.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Clarke |first=Tom |date=April 30, 2002 |title=Oldest fossil footprints on land |url=http://www.nature.com/news/2002/020430/full/news020429-2.html |journal=Nature |doi=10.1038/news020429-2 |issn=1744-7933 |access-date=2015-03-09 |quote=The oldest fossils of footprints ever found on land hint that animals may have beaten plants out of the primordial seas. Lobster-sized, centipede-like animals made the prints wading out of the ocean and scuttling over sand dunes about 530 million years ago. Previous fossils indicated that animals didn't take this step until 40 million years later.}}</ref>
|- valign="TOP"
| align="RIGHT" nowrap | 520 Ma
| Earliest [[Biology:Graptolithina|graptolites]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Graptolites |url=https://www.bgs.ac.uk/discovering-geology/fossils-and-geological-time/graptolites/ |access-date=2022-09-24 |website=British Geological Survey |language=en-GB}}</ref>
|-
| align="RIGHT" nowrap | 511 Ma
|Earliest [[Biology:Crustacean|crustacean]]s.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Leutwyler |first=Kristin |title=511-Million-Year-Old Fossil Suggests Pre-Cambrian Origins for Crustaceans |url=https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/511-million-year-old-foss/ |access-date=2022-09-24 |website=Scientific American |language=en}}</ref>
|- valign="TOP"
| align="RIGHT" nowrap | 505 Ma
| [[Biology:Fossil#Fossilization processes|Fossilization]] of the [[Earth:Burgess Shale|Burgess Shale]]
|-
| align="RIGHT" nowrap | 500 Ma
|[[Biology:Jellyfish|Jellyfish]] have existed since at least this time.
|- valign="TOP"
| align="RIGHT" nowrap | 485 Ma
| First vertebrates with true bones ([[Biology:Agnatha|jawless fishes]]).
|- valign="TOP"
| align="RIGHT" nowrap | 450 Ma
| First complete [[Biology:Conodont|conodont]]s and [[Biology:Sea urchin|echinoid]]s appear.
|- valign="TOP"
| align="RIGHT" nowrap | 440 Ma
| First agnathan fishes: [[Biology:Heterostraci|Heterostraci]], [[Biology:Galeaspida|Galeaspida]], and [[Biology:Pituriaspida|Pituriaspida]].
|- valign="TOP"
| align="RIGHT" nowrap | 420 Ma
| Earliest [[Biology:Actinopterygii|ray-finned fishes]], [[Biology:Trigonotarbida|trigonotarbid arachnids]], and land scorpions.<ref name="Garwood">{{cite journal |last1=Garwood |first1=Russell J. |last2=Edgecombe |first2=Gregory D. |date=September 2011 |title=Early Terrestrial Animals, Evolution, and Uncertainty  |journal=Evolution: Education and Outreach |volume=4 |issue=3 |pages=489–501 |doi=10.1007/s12052-011-0357-y |issn=1936-6426 |doi-access=free }}</ref>
|- valign="TOP"
| align="RIGHT" nowrap | 410 Ma
| First signs of teeth in fish. Earliest [[Biology:Nautilida|Nautilida]], [[Biology:Lycopodiophyta|lycophytes]], and [[Biology:Trimerophytopsida|trimerophytes]].
|- valign="TOP"
| align="RIGHT" nowrap="" | 488&ndash;400 Ma
| First [[Biology:Cephalopod|cephalopod]]s ([[Biology:Nautiloid|nautiloid]]s)<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Landing |first1=Ed |last2=Westrop |first2=Stephen R. |title=Lower Ordovician Faunas, Stratigraphy, and Sea-Level History of the Middle Beekmantown Group, Northeastern New York |date=September 1, 2006 |url=https://bioone.org/journals/journal-of-paleontology/volume-80/issue-5/0022-3360_2006_80_958_LOFSAS_2.0.CO_2/LOWER-ORDOVICIAN-FAUNAS-STRATIGRAPHY-AND-SEA-LEVEL-HISTORY-OF-THE/10.1666/0022-3360(2006)80[958:LOFSAS]2.0.CO;2.full |journal=Journal of Paleontology |volume=80 |issue=5 |pages=958–980 |doi=10.1666/0022-3360(2006)80[958:LOFSAS]2.0.CO;2 |s2cid=130848432 |issn=0022-3360}}</ref> and [[Biology:Chiton|chiton]]s.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Serb |first1=Jeanne M. |last2=Eernisse |first2=Douglas J. |date=September 25, 2008 |title=Charting Evolution's Trajectory: Using Molluscan Eye Diversity to Understand Parallel and Convergent Evolution |journal=Evolution: Education and Outreach |language=en |volume=1 |issue=4 |pages=439–447 |doi=10.1007/s12052-008-0084-1 |s2cid=2881223 |issn=1936-6434|doi-access=free }}</ref>
|- valign="TOP"
| align="RIGHT" nowrap | 395 Ma
| First [[Biology:Lichen|lichen]]s, [[Biology:Charales|stoneworts]]. Earliest [[Biology:Opiliones|harvestmen]], [[Biology:Mite|mite]]s, [[Biology:Hexapoda|hexapod]]s ([[Biology:Springtail|springtail]]s) and [[Biology:Ammonoidea|ammonoid]]s. The earliest known tracks on land named the [[Biology:Zachelmie trackways|Zachelmie trackways]] which are possibly related to [[Biology:Ichthyostegalia|icthyostegalians]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Niedźwiedzki |first1=Grzegorz |last2=Szrek |first2=Piotr |last3=Narkiewicz |first3=Katarzyna |last4=Narkiewicz |first4=Marek |last5=Ahlberg |first5=Per E. |date=January 1, 2010 |title=Tetrapod trackways from the early Middle Devonian period of Poland |url=https://d1wqtxts1xzle7.cloudfront.net/46752909/trackways-with-cover-page-v2.pdf?Expires=1664076708&Signature=T90exV-98rO1WUlSoLdNXTzzvqxsI-rCpzhxd1xC6Pt2wc-hH2xVdXEP57MFHFhPw5yfMK9kf5bRJ6WTM1WH-jXOTPfHoKUJVPH-s50O0~h6F0yg1HemExF546SgHoUEJ4a-HVpyzB2IXHNB8atvNjpfHTburCWCtaN8h4-Axs8yadT5uS8rNSgBgOZeXYJdHYk9D3FZ3vuEUC44QTxZKio2qF7G32CvptPzkd7D8IPzcqIUymSeErAXy9zTp1Ep2Vc9ttecV4DqNuV0VSGewUek-JvvBfI4gwaRJxOdZCvpoyDVRGfE5~xNYcGvmZr1WsAnHTOMRNmYDxGklQ52fw__&Key-Pair-Id=APKAJLOHF5GGSLRBV4ZA |journal=Nature |language=en |volume=463 |issue=7277 |pages=43–48 |doi=10.1038/nature08623 |pmid=20054388 |bibcode=2010Natur.463...43N |s2cid=4428903 |issn=1476-4687}}</ref>
|-
| align="RIGHT" nowrap | 375 Ma
|[[Biology:Tiktaalik|Tiktaalik]], a lobe-finned fish with some anatomical features similar to early tetrapods. It has been suggested to be a transitional species between fish and tetrapods.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Details of Evolutionary Transition from Fish to Land Animals Revealed |url=https://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=112416 |access-date=2022-09-25 |website=www.nsf.gov |language=English}}</ref>
|-
| align="RIGHT" nowrap | 365 Ma
|''[[Biology:Acanthostega|Acanthostega]]'' is one of the earliest vertebrates capable of walking.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Clack |first=Jennifer A. |date=November 21, 2005 |title=Getting a Leg Up on Land |url=http://sciam.com/print_version.cfm?articleID=000DC8B8-EA15-137C-AA1583414B7F0000 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070225023805/http://sciam.com/print_version.cfm?articleID=000DC8B8-EA15-137C-AA1583414B7F0000 |archive-date=2007-02-25  |journal=Scientific American|volume=293 |issue=6 |pages=100–107 |doi=10.1038/scientificamerican1205-100 |pmid=16323697 |bibcode=2005SciAm.293f.100C }}</ref>
|- valign="TOP"
| align="RIGHT" nowrap | 363 Ma
| By the start of the [[Earth:Carboniferous|Carboniferous]] Period, the Earth begins to resemble its present state. Insects roamed the land and would soon take to the skies; [[Biology:Shark|shark]]s swam the oceans as top predators,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.elasmo-research.org/education/evolution/evol_s_predator.htm |title=Evolution of a Super Predator |last=Martin |first=R. Aidan |website=Biology of Sharks and Rays |publisher=ReefQuest Centre for Shark Research |location=North Vancouver, BC, Canada |access-date=2015-03-10 |quote=The ancestry of sharks dates back more than 200 million years before the earliest known dinosaur.}}</ref> and vegetation covered the land, with [[Biology:Spermatophyte|seed-bearing plants]] and [[Earth:Forest|forest]]s soon to flourish.
Four-limbed tetrapods gradually gain adaptations which will help them occupy a terrestrial life-habit.
|- valign="TOP"
| align="RIGHT" nowrap | 360 Ma
| First [[Biology:Crab|crab]]s and [[Biology:Pteridophyte|ferns]]. Land flora dominated by [[Biology:Pteridospermatophyta|seed ferns]]. The Xinhang forest grows around this time.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.sci-news.com/paleontology/xinhang-forest-07484.html|title=Devonian Fossil Forest Unearthed in China {{!}} Paleontology {{!}} Sci-News.com|website=Breaking Science News {{!}} Sci-News.com|language=en-US|access-date=2019-09-28}}</ref>
|- valign="TOP"
| align="RIGHT" nowrap | 350 Ma
| First large sharks, [[Biology:Chimaeridae|ratfishes]], and [[Biology:Hagfish|hagfish]]; first crown tetrapods (with five digits and no fins and scales).
|- valign="TOP"
| align="RIGHT" nowrap | 350 Ma
| Diversification of [[Biology:Amphibian|amphibian]]s.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Amphibia |url=https://paleobiodb.org/classic/checkTaxonInfo?taxon_no=36319&is_real_user=1 |access-date=2022-10-07 |website=paleobiodb.org}}</ref>
|- valign="TOP"
| align="RIGHT" nowrap | 325-335 Ma
| First [[Biology:Reptiliomorpha|Reptiliomorpha]].<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Benton|first1=M.J.|last2=Donoghue|first2=P.C.J.|year=2006|title=Palaeontological evidence to date the tree of life|journal=Molecular Biology and Evolution|volume=24|issue=1|pages=26–53|doi=10.1093/molbev/msl150|pmid=17047029|doi-access=free}}</ref>
|- valign="TOP"
| align="RIGHT" nowrap | 330-320 Ma
| First [[Biology:Amniote|amniote]] vertebrates (''[[Biology:Paleothyris|Paleothyris]]'').<ref>{{Cite web |title=Origin and Early Evolution of Amniotes {{!}} Frontiers Research Topic |url=https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/14947/origin-and-early-evolution-of-amniotes#:~:text=Amniotes%20first%20appeared%20in%20the%20fossil%20record%20about%20318%20million,attention%20over%20the%20past%20decades. |access-date=2022-10-07 |website=www.frontiersin.org}}</ref>
|- valign="TOP"
| align="RIGHT" nowrap | 320 Ma
| [[Biology:Synapsid|Synapsid]]s (precursors to mammals) separate from [[Biology:Sauropsida|sauropsid]]s (reptiles) in late Carboniferous.<ref name="Amniota">{{cite web |url=http://www.palaeos.org/Amniota |title=Amniota |website=Palaeos |access-date=2015-03-09}}</ref>
|- valign="TOP"
| align="RIGHT" nowrap | 305 Ma
| The [[Earth:Carboniferous rainforest collapse|Carboniferous rainforest collapse]] occurs, causing a minor extinction event, as well as paving the way for amniotes to become dominant over amphibians and seed plants over ferns and lycophytes.
First [[Biology:Diapsid|diapsid]] reptiles (e.g. ''[[Biology:Petrolacosaurus|Petrolacosaurus]]'').
|- valign="TOP"
| align="RIGHT" nowrap | 280 Ma
| Earliest [[Biology:Beetle|beetle]]s, seed plants and [[Biology:Pinophyta|conifer]]s diversify while [[Biology:Lepidodendrales|lepidodendrid]]s and [[Biology:Equisetopsida|sphenopsid]]s decrease. [[Earth:Landform|Terrestrial]] temnospondyl amphibians and pelycosaurs (e.g. ''[[Biology:Dimetrodon|Dimetrodon]]'') diversify in species.
|- valign="TOP"
| align="RIGHT" nowrap | 275 Ma
| [[Biology:Therapsid|Therapsid]] synapsids separate from pelycosaur synapsids.
|-
| align="RIGHT" nowrap | 265 Ma
|[[Biology:Gorgonopsia|Gorgonopsia]]ns appear in the fossil record.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Kemp |first=T. S. |date=February 16, 2006 |title=The origin and early radiation of the therapsid mammal-like reptiles: a palaeobiological hypothesis |journal=Journal of Evolutionary Biology |language=en |volume=19 |issue=4 |pages=1231–1247 |doi=10.1111/j.1420-9101.2005.01076.x |pmid=16780524 |s2cid=3184629 |issn=1010-061X|doi-access=free }}</ref>
|- valign="TOP"
| align="RIGHT" nowrap | 251.9&ndash;251.4 Ma
|}

==== Mesozoic Era ====
{{Main|Earth:Mesozoic}}
[[File:Utatsusaurus BW.jpg|thumb|right|240px|''Utatsusaurus'' is the earliest-known ichthyopterygian.]]
[[File:Plateosaurus panorama.jpg|thumb|right|240px|''[[Biology:Plateosaurus engelhardti|Plateosaurus engelhardti]]'']]
[[File:Cycas circinalis.jpg|thumb|right|240px|''[[Biology:Cycas circinalis|Cycas circinalis]]'']]
[[File:Tyrannosaurus Rex Jane.jpg|thumb|240px|For about 150 million years, dinosaurs were the dominant land animals on Earth.]]
From 251.9 Ma to 66 Ma and containing the [[Earth:Triassic|Triassic]], [[Earth:Jurassic|Jurassic]] and [[Earth:Cretaceous|Cretaceous]] periods.
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Date
! Event
|- valign="TOP"
| align="RIGHT" nowrap |250 Ma
| Mesozoic marine revolution begins: increasingly well adapted and diverse predators stress sessile marine groups; the "balance of power" in the oceans shifts dramatically as some groups of prey adapt more rapidly and effectively than others.
|-
|- valign="TOP"
| align="RIGHT" nowrap | 250 Ma
|''Triadobatrachus massinoti'' is the earliest known frog.
|-
|- valign="TOP"
| align="RIGHT" nowrap | 248 Ma
|[[Biology:Sturgeon|Sturgeon]] and [[Biology:Paddlefish|paddlefish]] ([[Biology:Acipenseridae|Acipenseridae]]) first appear.
|- valign="TOP"
| align="RIGHT" nowrap | 245 Ma
| Earliest [[Biology:Ichthyopterygia|ichthyosaurs]]
|- valign="TOP"
| align="RIGHT" nowrap | 240 Ma
| Increase in diversity of [[Biology:Eucynodontia|cynodont]]s and [[Biology:Rhynchosaur|rhynchosaur]]s
|- valign="TOP"
| align="RIGHT" nowrap | 225 Ma
| Earliest dinosaurs ([[Biology:Plateosauridae|prosauropod]]s), first [[Biology:Cockle (bivalve)|cardiid]] [[Biology:Bivalvia|bivalve]]s, diversity in [[Biology:Cycad|cycad]]s, [[Biology:Bennettitales|bennettitaleans]], and conifers. First teleost fishes. First mammals (''[[Biology:Adelobasileus|Adelobasileus]]'').
|- valign="TOP"
| align="RIGHT" nowrap | 220 Ma
| Seed-producing [[Biology:Gymnosperm|Gymnosperm]] forests dominate the land; herbivores grow to huge sizes to accommodate the large guts necessary to digest the nutrient-poor plants.{{Citation needed|date=August 2007}} First [[Biology:Fly|flies]] and [[Biology:Turtle|turtle]]s (''[[Biology:Odontochelys|Odontochelys]]''). First [[Biology:Coelophysoidea|coelophysoid]] dinosaurs. First mammals from small-sized [[Biology:Cynodont|cynodont]]s, which transitioned towards a nocturnal, insectivorous, and endothermic lifestyle.
|-
|- valign="TOP"
| align="RIGHT" nowrap |205 Ma
|[[Biology:Triassic–Jurassic extinction event|Massive Triassic/Jurassic extinction]]. It wipes out all [[Biology:Pseudosuchia|pseudosuchia]]ns except crocodylomorphs, who transitioned to an aquatic habitat, while dinosaurs took over the land and pterosaurs filled the air.
|- valign="TOP"
| style="text-align:RIGHT;" nowrap=""| 200 Ma
| First accepted evidence for [[Biology:Virus|virus]]es infecting eukaryotic cells (the group [[Biology:Geminiviridae|Geminiviridae]]).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mcb.uct.ac.za/tutorial/virorig.html |title=Origins of Viruses |last=Rybicki |first=Ed |date=April 2008 |website=Introduction of Molecular Virology |publisher=University of Cape Town |location=Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa |type=Lecture |access-date=2015-03-10 |quote=Viruses of nearly all the major classes of organisms - animals, plants, fungi and bacteria / archaea - probably evolved with their hosts in the seas, given that most of the evolution of life on this planet has occurred there. This means that viruses also probably emerged from the waters with their different hosts, during the successive waves of colonisation of the terrestrial environment. |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090509094459/http://www.mcb.uct.ac.za/tutorial/virorig.html |archive-date=2009-05-09 }}</ref> However, viruses are still poorly understood and may have arisen before "life" itself, or may be a more recent phenomenon.
Major extinctions in terrestrial vertebrates and large amphibians. Earliest examples of [[Biology:Thyreophora|armoured dinosaurs]].
|- valign="TOP"
| align="RIGHT" nowrap | 195 Ma
| First pterosaurs with specialized feeding (''Dorygnathus''). First [[Biology:Sauropoda|sauropod]] dinosaurs. Diversification in small, [[Biology:Ornithischia|ornithischia]]n dinosaurs: [[Biology:Heterodontosauridae|heterodontosaurid]]s, [[Biology:Fabrosauridae|fabrosaurid]]s, and [[Biology:Scelidosaurus|scelidosaurids]].
|- valign="TOP"
| align="RIGHT" nowrap | 190 Ma
| [[Biology:Pliosauroidea|Pliosauroid]]s appear in the fossil record. First [[Biology:Lepidoptera|lepidopteran insects]] (''[[Biology:Archaeolepis|Archaeolepis]]''), [[Biology:Hermit crab|hermit crab]]s, modern [[Biology:Starfish|starfish]], irregular echinoids, [[Biology:Corbulidae|corbulid]] bivalves, and [[Biology:Bryozoa|tubulipore bryozoan]]s. Extensive development of sponge reefs.
|- valign="TOP"
| align="RIGHT" nowrap | 176 Ma
| First Stegosaurian dinosaurs.
|- valign="TOP"
| align="RIGHT" nowrap | 170 Ma
| Earliest [[Biology:Salamander|salamander]]s, [[Biology:Newt|newt]]s, [[Biology:Cryptoclididae|cryptoclidid]]s, [[Biology:Elasmosauridae|elasmosaurid]] [[Biology:Plesiosauria|plesiosaur]]s, and [[Biology:Cladotheria|cladotheria]]n mammals. Sauropod dinosaurs diversify.
|- valign="TOP"
| align="RIGHT" nowrap | 168 Ma
| First [[Biology:Lizard|lizard]]s.
|- valign="TOP"
| align="RIGHT" nowrap | 165 Ma
| First [[Biology:Batoidea|rays]] and [[Biology:Glycymerididae|glycymeridid]] bivalves. First [[Biology:Vampire squid|vampire squid]]s.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/vampire-squid-fish.html|title=What are the vampire squid and the vampire fish?|last=US Department of Commerce|first=National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration|website=oceanservice.noaa.gov|language=EN-US|access-date=2019-09-27}}</ref>
|- valign="TOP"
| align="RIGHT" nowrap | 163 Ma
| [[Biology:Pterodactyloidea|Pterodactyloid]] pterosaurs first appear.<ref>{{cite news |last=Dell'Amore |first=Christine |date=April 24, 2014 |title=Meet Kryptodrakon: Oldest Known Pterodactyl Found in China |url=http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/04/140424-pterodactyl-pterosaur-china-oldest-science-animals/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140425022505/http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/04/140424-pterodactyl-pterosaur-china-oldest-science-animals/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=April 25, 2014 |work=National Geographic News |location=Washington, D.C. |publisher=National Geographic Society |access-date=2014-04-25}}</ref>
|- valign="TOP"
| align="RIGHT" nowrap | 161 Ma
| [[Biology:Ceratopsia|Ceratopsia]]n dinosaurs appear in the fossil record (''[[Biology:Yinlong|Yinlong]]'') and the oldest known eutherian mammal: ''[[Biology:Juramaia|Juramaia]]''.
|- valign="TOP"
| align="RIGHT" nowrap | 160 Ma
| [[Biology:Multituberculata|Multituberculate]] mammals (genus ''[[Biology:Rugosodon|Rugosodon]]'') appear in eastern {{wipe|China}}.
|- valign="TOP"
| align="RIGHT" nowrap | 155 Ma
| First blood-sucking insects ([[Biology:Ceratopogonidae|ceratopogonid]]s), [[Biology:Rudists|rudist]] bivalves, and cheilostome bryozoans. ''[[Biology:Archaeopteryx|Archaeopteryx]]'', a possible ancestor to the birds, appears in the fossil record, along with [[Biology:Triconodontidae|triconodontid]] and [[Biology:Symmetrodonta|symmetrodont]] mammals. Diversity in stegosaurian and theropod dinosaurs.
|- valign="TOP"
| align="RIGHT" nowrap | 131 Ma
|First [[Biology:Pine|pine trees]].
|- valign="TOP"
| align="RIGHT" nowrap | 140 Ma
|[[Biology:Orb-weaver spider|Orb-weaver]] spiders appear.
|- valign="TOP"
| align="RIGHT" nowrap | 135 Ma
| Rise of the [[Biology:Flowering plant|angiosperm]]s. Some of these flowering plants bear structures that attract insects and other animals to spread [[Biology:Pollen|pollen]]; other angiosperms are pollinated by wind or water. This innovation causes a major burst of animal [[Biology:Coevolution|coevolution]]. First freshwater [[Biology:Pelomedusidae|pelomedusid]] turtles. Earliest [[Biology:Krill|krill]].
|- valign="TOP"
| align="RIGHT" nowrap | 120 Ma
| Oldest fossils of [[Biology:Heterokont|heterokont]]s, including both marine [[Biology:Diatom|diatom]]s and [[Biology:Dictyochales|silicoflagellate]]s.
|- valign="TOP"
| align="RIGHT" nowrap | 115 Ma
| First [[Biology:Monotreme|monotreme]] mammals.
|- valign="TOP"
| align="RIGHT" nowrap | 114 Ma
| Earliest [[Biology:Bee|bee]]s.<ref name="bees-argentina">{{cite web |last=Greshko |first=Michael |title=Oldest evidence of modern bees found in Argentina |url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/oldest-ever-fossil-bee-nests-discovered-in-patagonia |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210223204426/https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/oldest-ever-fossil-bee-nests-discovered-in-patagonia |url-status=dead |archive-date=February 23, 2021 |website=National Geographic |access-date=2022-06-22 |quote=The model shows that modern bees started diversifying at a breakneck pace about 114 million years ago, right around the time that eudicots—the plant group that comprises 75 percent of flowering plants—started branching out. The results, which confirm some earlier genetic studies, strengthen the case that flowering plants and pollinating bees have coevolved from the very beginning. |date=2020-02-11}}</ref>
|- valign="TOP"
| align="RIGHT" nowrap | 112 Ma
|''[[Biology:Xiphactinus|Xiphactinus]]'', a large predatory fish, appears in the fossil record.
|- valign="TOP"
| align="RIGHT" nowrap | 110 Ma
| First [[Biology:Hesperornithes|hesperornithes]], toothed diving birds. Earliest [[Biology:Limopsidae|limopsid]], [[Biology:Verticordiidae|verticordiid]], and [[Biology:Thyasiridae|thyasirid]] bivalves.
|- valign="TOP"
| align="RIGHT" nowrap="" | 100 Ma
| First [[Biology:Ant|ant]]s.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Moreau |first1=Corrie S. |last2=Bell |first2=Charles D. |last3=Vila |first3=Roger |last4=Archibald |first4=S. Bruce |last5=Pierce |first5=Naomi E. |date=2006-04-07 |title=Phylogeny of the Ants: Diversification in the Age of Angiosperms |url=https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.1124891 |journal=Science |language=en |volume=312 |issue=5770 |pages=101–104 |doi=10.1126/science.1124891 |pmid=16601190 |bibcode=2006Sci...312..101M |s2cid=20729380 |issn=0036-8075}}</ref>
|- valign="TOP"
| align="RIGHT" nowrap="" | 100&ndash;95 Ma
| ''[[Biology:Spinosaurus|Spinosaurus]]'', the largest theropod dinosaur, appears in the fossil record.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2020-09-23 |title=Case for 'river monster' Spinosaurus strengthened by new fossil teeth |url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/case-for-river-monster-spinosaurus-strengthened-by-new-fossil-teeth |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210613184807/https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/case-for-river-monster-spinosaurus-strengthened-by-new-fossil-teeth |url-status=dead |archive-date=June 13, 2021 |access-date=2022-10-03 |website=Science |language=en}}</ref>
|- valign="TOP"
| align="RIGHT" nowrap="" | 95 Ma
|First [[Biology:Crocodilia|crocodilia]]ns evolve.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Mindat.org |url=https://www.mindat.org/taxon-704.html |access-date=2022-10-03 |website=www.mindat.org}}</ref>
|- valign="TOP"
| align="RIGHT" nowrap | 90 Ma
| Extinction of ichthyosaurs. Earliest [[Biology:Snake|snake]]s and [[Biology:Nuculanidae|nuculanid]] bivalves. Large diversification in angiosperms: [[Biology:Magnoliids|magnoliids]], [[Biology:Rosids|rosids]], [[Biology:Hamamelidaceae|hamamelidids]], [[Biology:Monocotyledon|monocots]], and [[Biology:Ginger|ginger]]. Earliest examples of [[Biology:Tick|tick]]s. Probable origins of [[Biology:Placentalia|placental]] mammals (earliest undisputed fossil evidence is 66 Ma).
|-
|86&ndash;76 Ma
|Diversification of therian mammals.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Grossnickle |first1=David M. |last2=Newham |first2=Elis |date=2016-06-15 |title=Therian mammals experience an ecomorphological radiation during the Late Cretaceous and selective extinction at the K–Pg boundary |journal=Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences |volume=283 |issue=1832 |pages=20160256 |doi=10.1098/rspb.2016.0256 |pmc=4920311}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Mammals began their takeover long before the death of the dinosaurs |url=https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/06/160607220628.htm |access-date=2022-09-25 |website=ScienceDaily |language=en}}</ref>
|- valign="TOP"
| align="RIGHT" nowrap | 70 Ma
| Multituberculate mammals increase in diversity. First [[Biology:Yoldiidae|yoldiid]] bivalves. First possible [[Biology:Ungulates|ungulates]] (''Protungulatum'').
|- valign="TOP"
| align="RIGHT" nowrap | 68&ndash;66 Ma
| ''[[Biology:Tyrannosaurus|Tyrannosaurus]]'', the largest terrestrial predator of western [[Earth:Laramidia|North America]], appears in the fossil record. First species of ''[[Biology:Triceratops|Triceratops]].''<ref>{{Cite web |last=Finds |first=Study |date=2021-12-02 |title=T-rex fossil reveals dinosaur from 68 million years ago likely had a terrible toothache! |url=https://studyfinds.org/t-rex-fossil-toothache/ |access-date=2022-09-24 |website=Study Finds |language=en-US}}</ref>
|}

==== Cenozoic Era ====
{{Main|Earth:Cenozoic}}
66 Ma &ndash; present
[[File:Patriofelis-mount.jpg|thumb|right|240px|Mount of oxyaenid ''[[Biology:Patriofelis|Patriofelis]]'' from the American Museum of Natural History ]]
[[File:Icaronycteris index.jpg|thumb|right|240px|The bat ''[[Biology:Icaronycteris|Icaronycteris]]'' appeared 52.2 million years ago]]
[[File:Grassflowers.jpg|thumb|right|240px|Grass flowers]]
[[File:1064376 - Megafauna - Museu Nacional de História Natural UFRJ - 22 Outubro 2010 - Rio de Janeiro - Brazil.jpg|thumb|240px|Reconstructed skeletons of flightless terror bird and ground sloth at the Museu Nacional, Rio de Janeiro]]
[[File:Diprotodon optatum (2).jpg|thumb|240px|''[[Biology:Diprotodon|Diprotodon]]'' went extinct about 40,000 years ago as part of the Quaternary extinction event, along with every other Australian creature over {{cvt|100|kg}}.]]
[[File:Homo floresiensis v 2-0.jpg|thumb|240px|50,000 years ago several different [[Biology:Human evolution|human species]] coexisted on Earth including modern humans and ''Homo floresiensis'' (pictured).]]
[[File:PantheraLeoAtrox1 (retouched).jpg|thumb|240px|[[Biology:American lion|American lion]]s exceeded extant lions in size and ranged over much of North America until 11,000 BP.]]

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Date
! Event
|- valign="TOP"
| align="RIGHT" nowrap | 66 Ma
|- valign="TOP"
| align="RIGHT" nowrap | 66 Ma-
| Rapid dominance of conifers and ginkgos in high latitudes, along with mammals becoming the dominant species. First [[Biology:Psammobiidae|psammobiid]] bivalves. Earliest [[Biology:Rodent|rodent]]s. Rapid diversification in ants.
|- valign="TOP"
| align="RIGHT" nowrap | 63 Ma
| Evolution of the [[Biology:Creodonta|creodont]]s, an important group of meat-eating ([[Biology:Carnivore|carnivorous]]) mammals.
|-
| align="RIGHT" nowrap | 62 Ma
|Evolution of the first [[Biology:Penguin|penguin]]s.
|- valign="TOP"
| align="RIGHT" nowrap | 60 Ma
| Diversification of large, flightless birds. Earliest true [[Biology:Primate|primate]]s,{{Who|date=January 2019}} along with the first [[Biology:Semelidae|semelid]] bivalves, [[Biology:Xenarthra|edentate]], [[Biology:Carnivora|carnivora]]n and [[Biology:Insectivora|lipotyphlan]] mammals, and [[Biology:Owl|owl]]s. The ancestors of the carnivorous mammals (miacids) were alive.{{Citation needed|date=January 2019}}
|-
| align="RIGHT" nowrap | 59 Ma
|Earliest [[Biology:Sailfish|sailfish]] appear.
|- valign="TOP"
| align="RIGHT" nowrap | 56 Ma
| ''[[Biology:Gastornis|Gastornis]]'', a large flightless bird, appears in the fossil record.
|- valign="TOP"
| align="RIGHT" nowrap | 55 Ma
| Modern bird groups diversify (first [[Biology:Passerine|song birds]], [[Biology:Parrot|parrot]]s, [[Biology:Loon|loon]]s, [[Biology:Swift (bird)|swift]]s, [[Biology:Woodpecker|woodpecker]]s), first [[Biology:Archaeoceti|whale]] (''[[Biology:Himalayacetus|Himalayacetus]]''), earliest lagomorphs, [[Biology:Armadillo|armadillo]]s, appearance of [[Biology:Sirenia|sirenia]]n, [[Biology:Proboscidea|proboscidea]]n mammals in the fossil record. Flowering plants continue to diversify. The ancestor (according to theory) of the species in the genus ''[[Biology:Carcharodon|Carcharodon]]'', the early [[Biology:Isurus|mako shark]] ''Isurus hastalis'', is alive. Ungulates split into [[Biology:Artiodactyla|artiodactyla]] and [[Biology:Perissodactyla|perissodactyla]], with [[Biology:Cetacea|some members]] of the former returning to the sea.
|- valign="TOP"
| align="RIGHT" nowrap | 52 Ma
| First [[Biology:Bat|bat]]s appear (''[[Biology:Onychonycteris|Onychonycteris]]'').
|- valign="TOP"
| align="RIGHT" nowrap | 50 Ma
| Peak diversity of dinoflagellates and [[Biology:Coccolithophore|nannofossil]]s, increase in diversity of anomalodesmatan and heteroconch bivalves, [[Biology:Brontotheriidae|brontothere]]s, [[Biology:Tapir|tapir]]s, rhinoceroses, and camels appear in the fossil record, diversification of primates.
|- valign="TOP"
| align="RIGHT" nowrap | 40 Ma
| Modern-type butterflies and moths appear. Extinction of ''[[Biology:Gastornis|Gastornis]]''. ''[[Biology:Basilosaurus|Basilosaurus]]'', one of the first of the giant whales, appeared in the fossil record.
|-
| align="RIGHT" nowrap | 38 Ma
|Earliest bears.
|- valign="TOP"
| align="RIGHT" nowrap | 37 Ma
| First [[Biology:Nimravidae|nimravid]] ("false saber-toothed cats") carnivores — these species are unrelated to modern-type [[Biology:Felidae|feline]]s. First [[Biology:Alligator|alligator]]s and ruminants.
|- valign="TOP"
| align="RIGHT" nowrap | 35 Ma
| [[Biology:Poaceae|Grasses]] diversify from among the monocot [[Biology:Angiosperm|angiosperm]]s; [[Earth:Grassland|grassland]]s begin to expand. Slight increase in diversity of cold-tolerant [[Biology:Ostracod|ostracod]]s and foraminifers, along with major extinctions of [[Biology:Gastropoda|gastropod]]s, reptiles, amphibians, and multituberculate mammals. Many modern mammal groups begin to appear: first glyptodonts, [[Biology:Ground sloth|ground sloth]]s, canids, peccaries, and the first [[Biology:Eagle|eagle]]s and [[Biology:Hawk|hawk]]s. Diversity in [[Biology:Toothed whale|toothed]] and [[Biology:Baleen whale|baleen]] whales.
|- valign="TOP"
| align="RIGHT" nowrap | 33 Ma
| Evolution of the [[Biology:Thylacinidae|thylacinid]] [[Biology:Marsupial|marsupial]]s (''[[Biology:Badjcinus|Badjcinus]]'').
|- valign="TOP"
| align="RIGHT" nowrap | 30 Ma
| First [[Biology:Barnacle|balanids]] and [[Biology:Eucalypt|eucalypt]]s, extinction of [[Biology:Embrithopoda|embrithopod]] and brontothere mammals, earliest [[Biology:Suidae|pig]]s and [[Biology:Felidae|cat]]s.
|- valign="TOP"
| align="RIGHT" nowrap | 28 Ma
| ''[[Biology:Paraceratherium|Paraceratherium]]'' appears in the fossil record, the largest terrestrial mammal that ever lived. First [[Biology:Pelican|pelican]]s.
|- valign="TOP"
| align="RIGHT" nowrap | 25 Ma
| ''[[Biology:Pelagornis sandersi|Pelagornis sandersi]]'' appears in the fossil record, the largest flying bird that ever lived.
|- valign="TOP"
| align="RIGHT" nowrap | 25 Ma
| First [[Biology:Deer|deer]].
|-
| align="RIGHT" nowrap | 24 Ma
|First [[Biology:Pinniped|pinniped]]s.
|-
| align="RIGHT" nowrap | 23 Ma
|Earliest [[Biology:Struthio|ostriches]], trees representative of most major groups of [[Biology:Oak|oak]]s have appeared by now.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.oaksofchevithornebarton.com/about-history-of-garden.cfm?|title=About > The Origins of Oaks|website=www.oaksofchevithornebarton.com|access-date=2019-09-28}}</ref>
|- valign="TOP"
| align="RIGHT" nowrap | 20 Ma
| First [[Biology:Giraffe|giraffe]]s, [[Biology:Hyena|hyena]]s, and [[Biology:Giant anteater|giant anteater]]s, increase in bird diversity.
|-
| align="RIGHT" nowrap | 17 Ma
|First birds of the genus [[Biology:Corvus|Corvus]] (crows).
|- valign="TOP"
| align="RIGHT" nowrap | 15 Ma
| Genus ''[[Biology:Mammut|Mammut]]'' appears in the fossil record, first [[Biology:Bovidae|bovid]]s and [[Biology:Kangaroo|kangaroo]]s, diversity in Australian megafauna.
|- valign="TOP"
| align="RIGHT" nowrap | 10 Ma
| Grasslands and [[Earth:Savanna|savanna]]s are established, diversity in insects, especially ants and [[Biology:Termite|termite]]s, [[Biology:Horse|horse]]s increase in body size and develop high-crowned teeth, major diversification in grassland mammals and snakes.
|- valign="TOP"
| align="RIGHT" nowrap="" | 9.5 Ma {{Dubious |Great American Interchange|reason=Date is too early; it should be more like 2.7 mya|date=March 2020}}
|[[Earth:Great American Interchange|Great American Interchange]], where various land and freshwater faunas migrated between North and [[Earth:South America|South America]]. Armadillos, [[Biology:Opossum|opossum]]s, [[Biology:Hummingbird|hummingbird]]s [[Biology:Phorusrhacidae|Phorusrhacids]], [[Biology:Ground sloth|Ground Sloths]], [[Biology:Glyptodont|Glyptodont]]s, and [[Biology:Meridiungulata|Meridiungulates]] traveled to North America, while [[Biology:Horse|horse]]s, [[Biology:Tapir|tapir]]s, [[Biology:Saber-toothed cat|saber-toothed cat]]s, [[Biology:Jaguar|jaguar]]s, bears, [[Biology:Coati|coati]]es, [[Biology:Ferret|ferret]]s, [[Biology:Otter|otter]]s, [[Biology:Skunk|skunk]]s and deer entered South America.
|-
| align="RIGHT" nowrap | 9 Ma
|First [[Biology:Platypus|platypus]]es.
|- valign="TOP"
| align="RIGHT" nowrap | 6.5 Ma
| First [[Biology:Chimpanzee–human last common ancestor|hominin]]s (''[[Biology:Sahelanthropus|Sahelanthropus]]'').
|- valign="TOP"
| align="RIGHT" nowrap | 6 Ma
| [[Biology:Australopithecine|Australopithecine]]s diversify (''[[Biology:Orrorin|Orrorin]]'', ''[[Biology:Ardipithecus|Ardipithecus]]'').
|- valign="TOP"
| align="RIGHT" nowrap | 5 Ma
| First [[Biology:Sloth|tree sloths]] and [[Biology:Hippopotamus|hippopotami]], diversification of grazing herbivores like [[Biology:Zebra|zebra]]s and [[Biology:Elephant|elephant]]s, large carnivorous mammals like [[Biology:Lion|lion]]s and the genus ''[[Biology:Canis|Canis]]'', burrowing rodents, kangaroos, birds, and small carnivores, [[Biology:Vulture|vulture]]s increase in size, decrease in the number of perissodactyl mammals. Extinction of nimravid carnivores. First [[Biology:Leopard seal|leopard seal]]s.
|- valign="TOP"
| align="RIGHT" nowrap | 4.8 Ma
| [[Biology:Mammoth|Mammoth]]s appear in the fossil record.
|-
| align="RIGHT" nowrap | 4.5 Ma
|[[Biology:Marine iguana|Marine iguana]]s diverge from land iguanas.
|- valign="TOP"
| align="RIGHT" nowrap | 4 Ma
| ''[[Biology:Australopithecus|Australopithecus]]'' evolves. ''[[Biology:Stupendemys|Stupendemys]]'' appears in the fossil record as the largest freshwater turtle, first modern elephants, giraffes, zebras, lions, rhinoceros and [[Biology:Gazelle|gazelle]]s appear in the fossil record
|-
| align="RIGHT" nowrap | 3.6 Ma
|[[Biology:Blue whale|Blue whale]]s grow to modern size.
|-
| align="RIGHT" nowrap | 3 Ma
|Earliest [[Biology:Swordfish|swordfish]].
|- valign="TOP"
| align="RIGHT" nowrap | 2.7 Ma
| ''[[Biology:Paranthropus|Paranthropus]] evolves.''
|- valign="TOP"
| align="RIGHT" nowrap | 2.5 Ma
| Earliest species of ''[[Biology:Arctodus|Arctodus]]'' and ''[[Biology:Smilodon|Smilodon]]'' evolve.
|- valign="TOP"
| align="RIGHT" nowrap | 2 Ma
| First members of genus ''Homo'', [[Biology:Homo habilis|Homo Habilis]], appear in the fossil record. Diversification of conifers in high latitudes. The eventual ancestor of cattle, [[Biology:Aurochs|aurochs]] (''Bos primigenus''), evolves in India.
|- valign="TOP"
| align="RIGHT" nowrap | 1.7 Ma
| Australopithecines go extinct.
|- valign="TOP"
| align="RIGHT" nowrap | 1.2 Ma
| Evolution of ''[[Biology:Homo antecessor|Homo antecessor]]''. The last members of ''Paranthropus'' die out.
|-
| align="RIGHT" nowrap | 1 Ma
|First [[Biology:Coyote|coyote]]s.
|- valign="TOP"
| align="RIGHT" nowrap | 600 ka
| Evolution of ''[[Biology:Homo heidelbergensis|Homo heidelbergensis]].''
|-
| align="RIGHT" nowrap | 400 ka
|First [[Biology:Polar bear|polar bear]]s.
|- valign="TOP"
| align="RIGHT" nowrap | 350 ka
| Evolution of [[Biology:Neanderthal|Neanderthal]]s.
|- valign="TOP"
| align="RIGHT" nowrap | 300 ka
| ''[[Biology:Gigantopithecus|Gigantopithecus]]'', a giant relative of the [[Biology:Orangutan|orangutan]] from [[Earth:Asia|Asia]] dies out.
|- valign="TOP"
| align="RIGHT" nowrap | 250 ka
|- valign="TOP"
| align="RIGHT" nowrap | 70 ka
| Genetic bottleneck in humans ([[Earth:Toba catastrophe theory|Toba catastrophe theory]]).
|- valign="TOP"
| align="RIGHT" nowrap | 40 ka
| Last giant monitor lizards ([[Biology:Megalania|Varanus priscus]]) die out.
|- valign="TOP"
| align="RIGHT" nowrap | 35-25 ka
| Extinction of [[Biology:Neanderthal|Neanderthal]]s. Domestication of [[Biology:Dog|dog]]s.
|- valign="TOP"
| align="RIGHT" nowrap | 15 ka
| Last [[Biology:Woolly rhinoceros|woolly rhinoceros]] (''Coelodonta antiquitatis'') are believed to have gone extinct.
|- valign="TOP"
| align="RIGHT" nowrap | 11 ka
| Short-faced bears vanish from North America, with the last [[Biology:Megatheriidae|giant ground sloths]] dying out. All [[Biology:Equidae|Equidae]] become extinct in North America. Domestication of various [[Biology:Ungulates|ungulates]].
|- valign="TOP"
| align="RIGHT" nowrap | 10 ka
| [[Earth:Holocene|Holocene]] [[Earth:Epoch (geology)|epoch]] starts<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.stratigraphy.org/ICSchart/ChronostratChart2014-10.jpg |title=International Stratigraphic Chart (v 2014/10) |publisher=[[Organization:International Commission on Stratigraphy|International Commission on Stratigraphy]] |location=Beijing, China |format=PDF |access-date=2015-03-11}}</ref> after the [[Earth:Last Glacial Maximum|Last Glacial Maximum]]. Last mainland species of [[Biology:Woolly mammoth|woolly mammoth]] (''Mammuthus primigenus'') die out, as does the last ''Smilodon'' species.
|- valign="TOP"
| align="RIGHT" nowrap |8 ka
| The [[Biology:Subfossil lemur|Giant Lemur]] dies out.
|}

== See also ==
{{Div col}}
* [[Biology:Evolutionary history of plants|Evolutionary history of plants]] ([[Biology:Timeline of plant evolution|timeline]])
* [[Earth:Geologic time scale|Geologic time scale]]
* [[Earth:History of Earth|History of Earth]]
* [[Social:Sociocultural evolution|Sociocultural evolution]]
* [[Biology:Timeline of human evolution|Timeline of human evolution]]
{{div col end}}

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

=== Bibliography ===
{{Refbegin}}
* {{cite book |last1=Barton |first1=Nicholas H. |last2=Briggs |first2=Derek E.G. |author-link2=Derek Briggs |last3=Eisen |first3=Jonathan A. |author-link3=Jonathan Eisen |last4=Goldstein |author-link4=David B. Goldstein (geneticist) |first4=David B. |last5=Patel |first5=Nipam H. |year=2007 |title=Evolution |location=Cold Spring Harbor, NY |publisher=[[Organization:Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press|Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press]] |isbn=978-0-87969-684-9 |lccn=2007010767 |oclc=86090399 }}
* {{cite book |last1=Bernstein |first1=Harris |last2=Bernstein |first2=Carol |last3=Michod |first3=Richard E. |year=2012 |chapter=DNA Repair as the Primary Adaptive Function of Sex in Bacteria and Eukaryotes |chapter-url=https://www.novapublishers.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=31918 |editor1-last=Kimura |editor1-first=Sakura |editor2-last=Shimizu |editor2-first=Sora |title=DNA Repair: New Research |location=Hauppauge, NY |publisher=Nova Science Publishers |isbn=978-1-62100-808-8 |lccn=2011038504 |oclc=828424701 }}
* {{cite book |last=Bjornerud |first=Marcia |year=2005 |title=Reading the Rocks: The Autobiography of the Earth |url=https://archive.org/details/readingrocksauto00bjor |url-access=registration |location=Cambridge, MA |publisher=[[Organization:Westview Press|Westview Press]] |isbn=978-0-8133-42498 |lccn=2004022738 |oclc=56672295 }}
* {{cite book |last=Kirschvink |first=Joseph L. |year=1992 |chapter=Late Proterozoic Low-Latitude Global Glaciation: the Snowball Earth |chapter-url=http://web.gps.caltech.edu/~jkirschvink/pdfs/firstsnowball.pdf |editor1-last=Schopf |editor1-first=J. William |editor1-link=J. William Schopf |editor2-last=Klein |editor2-first=Cornelis |title=The Proterozoic Biosphere: A Multidisciplinary Study |location=Cambridge; New York |publisher={{wipe|Cambridge University Press}} |isbn=978-0-521-36615-1 |lccn=91015085 |oclc=23583672 }}
* {{cite book |last=McKinney |first=Michael L. |year=1997 |chapter=How do rare species avoid extinction? A paleontological view |editor1-last=Kunin |editor1-first=William E. |editor2-last=Gaston |editor2-first=Kevin J. |title=The Biology of Rarity: Causes and consequences of rare—common differences |edition=1st |location=London; New York |publisher=Chapman & Hall |isbn=978-0-412-63380-5 |lccn=96071014 |oclc=36442106 }}
* {{cite book |last1=Miller |first1=G. Tyler |last2=Spoolman |first2=Scott E. |year=2012 |title=Environmental Science |edition=14th |location=Belmont, CA |publisher=Brooks/Cole |isbn=978-1-111-98893-7 |lccn=2011934330 |oclc=741539226 }}
* {{cite book |last1=Stearns |first1=Beverly Peterson |last2=Stearns |first2=Stephen C. |year=1999 |title=Watching, from the Edge of Extinction |url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780300084696 |url-access=registration |location=New Haven, CT |publisher=Yale University Press |isbn=978-0-300-07606-6 |lccn=98034087 |oclc=47011675 }}
{{Refend}}

== Further reading ==
* {{cite book |last=Dawkins |first=Richard |year=2004 |title=The Ancestor's Tale: A Pilgrimage to the Dawn of Life |location=Boston |publisher=Houghton Mifflin Company |isbn=978-0-618-00583-3 |lccn=2004059864 |oclc=56617123 |title-link=The Ancestor's Tale }}

== External links ==
* {{cite web |url=http://evolution.berkeley.edu/ |title=Understanding Evolution: your one-stop resource for information on evolution |publisher=[[Organization:University of California, Berkeley|University of California, Berkeley]] |access-date=2015-03-18}}
* {{cite web |url=http://tolweb.org/Life_on_Earth/1 |title=Life on Earth |date=January 1, 1997 |website=[[Biology:Tree of Life Web Project|Tree of Life Web Project]] |publisher=[[Organization:University of Arizona|University of Arizona]] |access-date=2015-03-18}} Explore complete phylogenetic tree interactively
* {{cite web |url=http://www.talkorigins.org/origins/geo_timeline.html |title=Evolutionary and Geological Timelines |last=Brandt |first=Niel |website=[[Biology:TalkOrigins Archive|TalkOrigins Archive]] |publisher=The TalkOrigins Foundation, Inc. |location=Houston, TX |access-date=2015-03-18}}
* {{cite web |url=http://www.palaeos.com |title=Palaeos: Life Through Deep Time |website=Palaeos |access-date=2015-03-18}}
* {{cite web |url=http://www.johnkyrk.com/evolution.html |title=Evolution |last=Kyrk |first=John |website=Cell Biology Animation |format=[[SWF]] |access-date=2015-03-18}} Interactive timeline from Big Bang to present
* {{cite web |url=http://sci.waikato.ac.nz/evolution/plantEvolution.shtml |title=Plant Evolution |website=Plant and Animal Evolution |publisher=[[Organization:University of Waikato|University of Waikato]] |access-date=2015-03-18}} Sequence of Plant Evolution
* {{cite web |url=http://sci.waikato.ac.nz/evolution/AnimalEvolution.shtml |title=The History of Animal Evolution |website=Plant and Animal Evolution |publisher=University of Waikato |access-date=2015-03-18}} Sequence of Animal Evolution
* {{cite web |url=http://draget.net/hoe/index.php |title=History of Life on Earth |last1=Yeo |first1=Dannel |last2=Drage |first2=Thomas |year=2006 |access-date=2015-03-19 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150315040156/http://draget.net/hoe/index.php |archive-date=2015-03-15 }}
* {{cite AV media |year=2007 |title=Exploring Time |url=http://exploringtime.org/?page=segments |access-date=2015-03-19 |publisher=The Science Channel}}
* {{cite web |url=http://www.plantsci.cam.ac.uk/timeline/ |title=Plant evolution timeline |last=Roberts |first=Ben |publisher=[[Organization:University of Cambridge|University of Cambridge]] |access-date=2015-03-19 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150313180118/http://www.plantsci.cam.ac.uk/timeline |archive-date=2015-03-13 |url-status=dead }}
* [http://www.naturelyrics.com/pages/articles/nature_photography/nature_in_nature_photography.html Art of the Nature Timelines on Wikipedia]
{{Evolution}}
{{Earth}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Timeline Of Evolution}}
[[Category:Origin of life]]
[[Category:Timelines of world history|evolution]]

{{Sourceattribution|Timeline of the evolutionary history of life}}