BIO 2| GEOLOGICAL TIME SCALE Flashcards
(113 cards)
1
Q
- is a record that depicts Earth’s history and, at the same time, the order of life from 4.6 billion years ago to the present.
A
Geologic Time Scale
2
Q
- distinguishes Earth’s history based on life-forms that existed at certain times since the planet’s formation.
- The majority of these life forms are discovered as fossils, which are the remains or evidence of an organism from the geologic past that have been preserved in silt or rock.
A
Geologic Time Scale
3
Q
Carbon-14 is known as radioactive isotope of carbon. It is continuously produced in the upper atmosphere as repercussion of cosmic ray bombardment. Carbon-14 can be used to date events on the process known as radiocarbon dating. The half-life of carbon 14 is only 5, 730 years, and thus, it can be used to date events from pre-historic times including recent geologic history.
A
Carbon Dating
4
Q
- known as radioactive isotope of carbon.
- is continuously produced in the upper atmosphere as repercussion of cosmic ray bombardment.
A
Carbon 14
5
Q
The half-life of carbon 14 is?
A
5,730 years
6
Q
When “eras” are grouped together, this will create the longest geologic subdivision called an “____.” marked by differences in life forms and can vary from continent to continent.
A
Eon
7
Q
When “periods” are compacted together according to their characteristics, this geologic division will comprise the so-called “era.” Marked by major changes in the fossil record.
A
Era
8
Q
Is a basic unit of geological time during which a specific kind of rock system is produced. Based on types of life existing at the time
A
Period
9
Q
Shortest subdivision; marked by differences in life forms and can vary from continent to continent.
A
Epoch
10
Q
order of geologic time
A
eon
era
period
epoch
11
Q
2 division of eons
A
precambrian
phanerozoic
12
Q
3 division of precambrian
A
hadean
archean
proterozoic
13
Q
3 eras
A
paleozoic
mesozoic
cenozoic
14
Q
“Age of Invertebrates”
A
Paleozoic
15
Q
“Age of Reptiles”
A
Mesozoic
16
Q
“Age of Mammals”
A
Cenozoic
17
Q
periods of paleozoic (7)
A
Cambrian
Ordovician
Silurian
Devonian
Missippian (Carboniferous)
Pennsylvanian (Carboniferous)
Permian
18
Q
period of mesozoic (3)
A
Triassic
Jurassic
Cretaceous
19
Q
periods of cenozoic (3)
A
Paleogene (Tertiary)
Neogene (Tertiary)
Quaternary
20
Q
epochs of Paleogene (3)
A
Paleocene
Eocene
Oligocene
21
Q
epochs of Neogene(2)
A
Miocene
Pliocene
22
Q
epochs of Quaternary (2)
A
Pleistocene
Holocene
23
Q
we are living in what eon, era, period, and epoch?
A
Phanerozoic Eon
Cenozoic Era
Quaternary Period
Holocene Epoch
24
Q
Earliest span of time
A
Precambrian
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Everything since
Phanerozoic
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More than 85% of earth's history falls under this supereon, from 4.6 billion years ago to 540 million years ago.
PRECAMBRIAN EON
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The solidification of the earth's continental and oceanic crust
HADEAN EON (4.6-4 BILLION YEARS AGO)
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The evolution of earth's first life forms
ARCHEAN EON (4-2.5 BILLION YEARS AGO)
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The appearance of multi-celled animals and the gathering of land masses to form continents
PROTEROZOIC EON (2.5 BILLION YEARS AGO-541 MILLION YEARS AGO)
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This is the most recent among the eras of the Phanerozoic Era; this era marks the age of mammals and the first human evolution.
CENOZOIC ERA (66 MILLION YEARS AGO-NOW)
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This era marks the beginning of dinosaurs, mammals, birds, and plants due to mass extinction.
MESOZOIC ERA (252 MILLION YEARS AGO)
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The explosion of diverse marine life and the largest mass extinction of marine organisms
PALEOZOIC ERA (541 MILLION YEARS AGO)
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541 MILLION YEARS AGO TO PRESENT
PHANEROZOIC EON
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means 'ancient life.' The oldest animals on Earth appeared just before the start of this era in the Ediacaran Period, but scientists had not yet discovered them when the geologic timescale was made. Life was primitive during the Paleozoic and included many invertebrates (animals without backbones) and the earliest fish and amphibians.
Paleozoic (541-252 million years ago)
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* Land animals hadn't evolved yet.
* Marine life flourished.
major groups of invertebrates first
* Most appeared.
* Protective shells and exoskeletons evolved. Many unique and unusual invertebrates, which looked nothing like the animals of today, swam in the Cambrian seas.
CAMBRIAN PERIOD (541-485 MILLION YEARS AGO)
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Dickinsonia costata
precambrian eon
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* The most iconic invertebrates trilobites, a group of arthropods ranged in size from a small coin to a tire. Crinoids, also known as sea lilies, lived attached to the seafloor, filtering plankton out of the water with their feather-like arms.
* The first vertebrates (animals with backbones) were primitive, jawless fish that first appeared near the end end of the Cambrian Period.
CAMBRIAN PERIOD (541-485 MILLION YEARS AGO)
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a group of arthropods ranged in size from a small coin to a tire.
trilobites
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also known as sea lilies, lived attached to the seafloor, filtering plankton out of the water with their feather-like arms
Crinoids
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The first vertebrates
primitive, jawless fish
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Haikouichthys ercaicunensis
CAMBRIAN PERIOD (541-485 MILLION YEARS AGO)
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* Trilobites and crinoids were still around. Many new marine invertebrates with shells evolved at this time and replaced Cambrian forms.
* The first corals appeared, but they were not widespread. Algae and sponges dominated reefs. Jawless, armored fish were common.
ORDOVICIAN PERIOD (485-444)
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* Marine predators such as sea stars
and nautiloids existed.
* Coral reefs consist of sponges,
bryzoans and cyanobacteria.
ORDOVICIAN PERIOD (485-444)
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* The first land plants appeared.
They were similar to mosses and other plants without deep roots or leaves.
ORDOVICIAN PERIOD (485-444)
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* A MASS EXTINCTION ended the
Ordovician Period when ~80% of species living in the shallow seas became extinct!
Abundant glaciers caused sea level to drop.
* The survivors were the agnathans characterized by: lack of jaw, being armored and having no fins. This group consists of the hagfishes and lampreys.
ORDOVICIAN PERIOD (485-444)
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Large coral reefs first appeared, and they were common in tropical shallow
seas.
There was significant evolution in the jawless fishes, and some species lived in brackish waters.
The first fish with jaws appeared. The first evidence for animals on land occurred in the Silurian: scorpions and millipede-like animals.
SILURIAN PERIOD (444-419)
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Large coral reefs first appeared, and they were common in tropical shallow seas.
There was significant evolution in the jawless fishes, and some species lived in brackish waters.
The first fish with jaws appeared.
The first evidence for animals on land occurred in the Silurian: scorpions and millipede-like animals.
SILURIAN PERIOD (444-419)
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Large coral reefs first appeared, and they were common in tropical shallow seas. There was significant evolution in the jawless fishes, and some species lived in brackish waters. The first fish with jaws appeared. The first evidence for animals on land occurred in the
Silurian: scorpions (chelicerates) and millipede- like(mandibulates) animals.
SILURIAN PERIOD (444-419)
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The first vascular plants (with veins. for transporting liquids) appeared, but they were very small.
Once these land plants appeared,
they rapidly covered most of the land surface.
SILURIAN PERIOD (444-419)
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The shallow, tropical seas had abundant reefs and were home to a myriad of sea life.
Sharks became common at this time.
The first lobe-finned fish evolved early in the Devonian, and by the end of the Devonian had evolved into the first amphibian-like animals.
These proto-amphibians were the very first vertebrates to inhabit the land.
* The oldest preserved insects and centipedes appeared in the Devonian.
Trilobites were declining, and this may have been due to an increase in swimming predators.
DEVONIAN PERIOD ()419-359 MILLION YEARS AGO
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- By the end of the Devonian, the first
trees and the forests were present.
- Ferns and seed-producing plants also
first evolved in the Late Devonian.
- No flowering plants existed.
- Because of the great increase in land plant debris, the first loamy soils, ideal for plant growth, were formed.
DEVONIAN PERIOD (419-359 MILLION YEARS AGO)
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* The shallow seas surrounding each continent retreated
as the continents approached each other and as the ice ages caused periodic lowering of sea level.
With the loss of these seas, many of the shallow marine organisms disappeared.
On land, the first reptiles appeared, and they laid the first shelled eggs.
With this important evolutionary innovation, vertebrates no longer had to find water in which to lay their eggs.
The first land snails and insects with wings appeared (i.e., dragonflies and mayflies), and some of these had wingspans of more than three feet!
CARBONIFEROUS PERIOD (359-299 MILLION YEARS AGO)
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* Forests were widespread near the
equator.
* Lush plant growth provided the raw material for the great coal deposits of the world.
* The first conifers appeared during the
Carboniferous.
CARBONIFEROUS PERIOD (359-299 MILLION YEARS AGO)
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Pangaea now existed as a super continent that contained almost all the land area of the world. Shallow coastal seas continued to decrease in size, so habitats for shallow marine organisms also decreased..
As many swamps dried up, amphibian populations dwindled.
Reptiles diversified and spread across the land.
The precursors to mammals evolved
PERMIAN PERIOD (299-252 MILLION YEARS AGO)
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Anthracosaurus give rise to captorhinomorphs, which later give rise to the synapsids.
PERMIAN PERIOD (299-252 MILLION YEARS AGO)
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* As Pangaea became more arid and
seasonal, most of the tropical coal swamps disappeared.
* Swamps were replaced by temperate forests that contained abundant
conifers.
PERMIAN PERIOD (299-252 MILLION YEARS AGO)
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* The LARGEST MASS EXTINCTION of life on our planet occurred at the end of the Permian when 96% of all species perished.
* Evidence suggests that massive volcanic eruptions, one or more meteor impacts, and/or a rapid temperature increase due to a sudden release of methane from the ocean bottoms may have contributed to this extinction.
PERMIAN PERIOD (299-252 MILLION YEARS AGO)
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Mesozoic (252-66 million years ago) means 'middle life' and this is the time of the dinosaurs. This era Triassic, Jurassic, and includes the Cretaceous Periods. It ended with a massive meteorite impact that caused a mass extinction, wiping out the dinosaurs and up to 80% of life on Earth.
MESOZOIC ERA (252-66 MILLION YEARS AGO)
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* After the great extinction at the end of the Permian, many new kinds of animals evolved during the Triassic.
* The dominant land animals were reptiles.
*The first dinosaurs, marine reptiles, lizards, and tortoises appeared.
* Mammals appeared during the Triassic, but they remained insignificant until their competitors, the dinosaurs, became extinct at the end of the Cretaceous.
* Crocodiles were abundant. It was in this period that insects attained complete metamorphosis.
TRIASSIC PERIOD (255-201 MILLION YEARS AGO)
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a marine reptile with a dolphin-like appearance and which gave birth to living young.
Ichthyosaurus fossil
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* There were climatic variations due to alternating wet/dry and cold/hot seasons that influenced the distribution of plant communities. Conifers, cycads, and ferns were common.
TRIASSIC PERIOD (252-201 MILLION YEARS AGO)
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That animals were on Earth during the Jurassic Period?
*
*Giant plant-eating dinosaurs roamed the Earth with smaller but vicious carnivores stalking them.
* "Age of the dinosaurs"
* Flying reptiles and the first birds appeared.
*Creeping about in the undergrowth were tiny mammals no bigger than rats.
*The shallow oceans contained abundant life from tiny plankton to huge, whale-sized marine reptiles.
JURASSIC PERIOD (201-145 MILLION YEARS AGO)
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Conifers continued to be the most diverse large trees. Cycads (evergreen, cone-bearing, palm-like plants) became so abundant and diverse that the Jurassic is sometimes called the "Age of Cycads."
JURASSIC PERIOD (201-145 MILLION YEARS AGO)
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At least initially, dinosaurs and marine reptiles continued to flourish, and many new species appeared.
Birds diversified and expanded in numbers, and they may have been the reason that flying reptiles decreased significantly.
There were many new mammals, including the three groups that live today.
Due to the appearance of flowering plants, many modern groups of insects appeared and began to diversify, including ants, termites, bees, butterflies, aphids, and grasshoppers.
CRETACEOUS PERIOD (145-66 MILLION YEARS AGO)
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* One of the most significant
developments during the________ was the appearance and rapid diversification of the first flowering plants.
CRETACEOUS PERIOD (145-66 MILLION YEARS AGO)
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* A large meteorite crashed into the Gulf of Mexico 66 million years ago, causing a massive tsunami and a climate disruption that killed up to 80% of the world's animal and plant species, the last of the dinosaurs being the most noticeable victims.
* The mass extinction is known as the KIT (Cretaceous-Tertiary) extinction.
* This mass extinction event separates the Mesozoic from the Cenozoic Era.
CRETACEOUS PERIOD (145-66 MILLION YEARS AGO)
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- The mass extinction is known as the KIT
- This mass extinction event separates the Mesozoic from the Cenozoic Era.
(Cretaceous-Tertiary) extinction
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means 'recent life. During this era, plants and animals look most like those on Earth today. Periods of the _________ are split into even smaller parts known as Epochs.
CENOZOIC ERA (66 MILLION YEARS AGO-PRESENT)
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* After the massive extinction at the end of the Cretaceous, evolution once again proceeded rapidly.
* With their dinosaur competitors gone, many new mammals evolved.
* The first rodents, armadillos, primitive primates, and ancestors to modern
mammalian carnivores appeared.
* However, none of these Paleocene forms were any bigger than a small bear.
* Many of these early mammals were unsuccessful competitors, and few exist today.
* Although the dinosaurs were gone, reptiles, such as snakes, lizards, turtles, and crocodiles persisted.
PALEOCENE EPOCH (66-56 MILLION YEARS AGO)
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(66-23 MILLION YEARS AGO)
PALEOGENE PERIOD
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* New plants quickly evolved, and the first pines, cacti, and palm trees appeared.
* Flowering plants continued to diversify rapidly.
PALEOCENE EPOCH (66-56 MILLION YEARS AGO)
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* At the end of the _______ there was a sudden global warming.
* The exact cause for this temperature increase is unknown but may be related to the release of carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4) into the oceans and atmosphere.
* Atmospheric and ocean circulation patterns changed, and there were significant extinctions in some deep-sea organisms and a major turnover in land mammal species.
PALEOCENE EPOCH (66-56 MILLION YEARS AGO)
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* The increase in diversity of mammals that began in the Paleocene continued in the ___________.
* The first whales, bats, primitive elephants, and hoofed animals appeared.
* The first giant mammals roamed the Earth.
* The first horse-like animals lived in the Eocene, but they were the size of dogs and had toes instead of hooves.
* Eocene primates more closely resembled modern forms.
* Birds also continued to diversify with the appearance of penguins, pelicans, ducks, and gulls.
EOCENE EPOCH (56-34 MILLION YEARS AGO)
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* The highly successful flowering plants continued to diversify until they filled most environments on the land.
EOCENE EPOCH (56-34 MILLION YEARS AGO)
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an extinct flower species found in western North America. This flower is part of the Malvaceae Family, which also includes the Cocoa.
Florissantia quilchenens
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Near the end of the Eocene, there is evidence of several extraterrestrial objects striking the Earth.
Remnants of these craters can be found in Russia, Belarus, Canada, and the United States at the southern part of the Chesapeake Bay.
It is still uncertain if they all happened simultaneously and what effect they had on the planet.
EOCENE EPOCH (56-34 MILLION YEARS AGO)
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As temperatures lowered, seasonality increased, grasslands appeared, and the body size of mammals increased.
A huge, hornless rhinoceros from Asia was the largest land mammal ever to live.
As forests diminished, some animal species adapted and became grazers.
Many species could not survive the change in climate and perished.
Many other new forms evolved that could cope with the savanna's limited hiding places.
Early forms of monkeys, dogs, cats, rhinoceroses, pigs, and camels were present.
Horses increased in size, with longer legs and fewer toes for faster running.
OLIGOCENE EPOCH (34-23 MILLION YEARS AGO)
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The cooler, drier, more seasonal climate of the Oligocene was ideal for the evolution of numerous species of grasses.
OLIGOCENE EPOCH (34-23 MILLION YEARS AGO)
79
* With increasing grasslands, hoofed mammals, with their multiple stomachs suitable for digesting the tough grasses, flourished.
* There were great mammal migrations from continent to continent over the land bridges.
For example, elephants first migrated to North America at this time.
* The abundance and diversity of mammals was at its highest.
* The most significant event for human beings, however, was the appearance of the first anthropoid apes.
MIOCENE EPOCH (23-5 MILLION YEARS AGO)
80
The most significant event for human beings, however, was the appearance of the first anthropoid apes.
A team of researchers from the George Washington University and the Institut Català de Paleontologia Miquel Crusafont (ICP) identified a new genus and species of small ape that existed before the evolutionary split of humans/great apes (hominids) and gibbons (the "lesser apes" or hylobatids).
MIOCENE EPOCH (23-5 MILLION YEARS AGO)
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* The two major plant changes were the major expansion of grasslands and the appearance of kelp forests in the oceans.
MIOCENE EPOCH (23-5 MILLION YEARS
AGO)
82
Most of the plant and animal groups would be recognizable to us today, although the individual species were different.
* The emergence of the land bridge between North and South America in the late Pliocene made it possible for many animals to migrate into new regions.
* Armadillos, ground sloths, opossums, and porcupines moved into North America, and dogs, cats, bears, and horses moved into South America.
Many animals became extinct because of the new competition.
* The modern horse evolved, and hoofed animals reached their peak on the grasslands.
* Early hominids in Africa evolved into several distinctly different species with only one of them surviving to the present day as modern human.
PLIOCENE EPOCH (5-2.6 MILLION YEARS AGO)
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Grasslands and savannas expanded significantly due to the cooler, drier climate.
The vegetation species were very similar to those of today.
PLIOCENE EPOCH (5-2.6 MILLION YEARS AGO)
84
Many plants and animals survived to live on the planet today, but many others did not.
* There was a significant number of large animals (i.e., mammoths, mastodons, saber-toothed cats, and giant ground sloths), but few of them survived.
* Their extinction was probably due to stresses from the fluctuating climate and being hunted by humans.
By the end of the Pleistocene, modern humans had spread throughout most of the world except Antarctica.
PLEISTOCENE EPOCH (2.6 MYA-10,000 YEARS AGO)
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During interglacial periods, forests were dominant.
* When the climate cooled, grasslands expanded, and tundra dominated.
PLEISTOCENE EPOCH (2.6 MYA-10,000 YEARS AGO)
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gnathostomes
SILURIAN PERIOD (444-419)
87
Nautilus Fossils
ORDOVICIAN PERIOD (485-444)
88
cooksonia
SILURIAN PERIOD (444-419)
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Osteolopsis macrolepidotu
DEVONIAN PERIOD (419-359 MYA)
90
Sarcopterygii
DEVONIAN PERIOD (419-359 MYA)
91
Ichthyostega
DEVONIAN PERIOD (419-359 MYA)
92
- The fern-like leaves of ______________, one of the first tree-like plants. It grew to an average height of about 10 meters, produced spores, and had a global distribution.
Archaeopteris
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Archaeopteris
DEVONIAN PERIOD (419-359 MYA)
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Anthracosaurus
CARBONIFEROUS PERIOD (359-299 MYA)
95
an early relative of the conifers.
Lebachia
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Lebachia
CARBONIFEROUS PERIOD (359-299 MYA)
97
Labidosaurus hamatus
PERMIAN PERIOD (299-252 MYA)
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extinct mammal-like reptiles that evolved into mammals
Therapsids
99
Therapsids
TRIASSIC PERIOD(252-201 MYA)
100
teleost
TRIASSIC PERIOD(252-201 MYA)
101
Proganochelys
TRIASSIC PERIOD(252-201 MYA)
102
Cycads
Gingko
Conifers
TRIASSIC PERIOD(252-201 MYA)
103
Ichthyosaurus
TRIASSIC PERIOD(252-201 MYA)
104
Eoraptor
Coelophysis
Plateosaurus
Archosaurs
TRIASSIC PERIOD(252-201 MYA)
105
Stegosaurus
Allosaurus
Ceratosaurs
Brachiosaurus
JURASSIC PERIOD(201-145 MYA)
106
Triceratops
Iguanodon
Ornithomimus
Tyrannosaurus
CRETACEOUS PERIOD (145-66 MYA)
107
Archaefructus
CRETACEOUS PERIOD (145-66 MYA)
108
Ischyrotomys
plesiadapiforms
PALEOCENE EPOCH (66-56 MYA)
109
Andrewsarchus mongoliensis
Arsinoitherium Zitelli
EOCENE EPOCH (56-34 MYA)
110
Florissantia quilchenens
EOCENE EPOCH (56-34 MYA)
111
Paraceratherium
OLIGOCENE EPOCH (34-23 MYA)
112
Standing 16 feet tall at the shoulder and weighing 20 tons, __________ was one of the largest mammals to ever walk the Earth.
Paraceratherium
113
Australopithecus afarensis
(Lucy)
PLIOCENE EPOCH (5-2.6 MYA)
