| EON |
ERA
|
PERIOD |
EPOCH |
DATES |
AGE of
|
| Phanerozoic |
Cenozoic
|
Quaternary |
Holocene |
0-2 |
Mammals
|
Humans
|
Pleistocene
|
| Tertiary |
Neogene |
Pliocene |
2-5
|
| Miocene |
5-24
|
| Paleogene |
Oligocene |
24-37
|
| Eocene |
37-58
|
| Paleocene |
58-66 |
Extinction of dinosaurs
|
|
Mesozoic
|
Cretaceous |
66-144 |
Reptiles
|
Flowering plants
|
| Jurassic |
144-208 |
1st birds/mammals
|
| Triassic |
208-245 |
First Dinosaurs
|
|
Paleozoic
|
Permian |
245-286 |
Amphibians
|
End of trilobites
|
| Carboniferous |
Pennsylvanian |
286-320 |
First reptiles
|
| Mississippian |
320-360 |
Large primitive trees
|
| Devonian |
360-408 |
Fishes
|
First amphibians
|
| Silurian |
408-438 |
First land plant fossils
|
| Ordovician |
438-505 |
Invertebrates
|
First Fish
|
| Cambrian |
505-570 |
1st shells, trilobites dominant
|
| Proterozoic |
Also known as Precambrian |
570-2,500 |
1st Multicelled organisms
|
| Archean |
2,500-3,800 |
1st one-celled organisms
|
| Hadean |
3,800-4,600 |
Approx age of oldest rocks 3,800
|
Note: Dates are in millions of years
Taken from: MODERN PHYSICAL GEOLOGY, Graham R. Thompson Ph.D., Jonathan Turk Ph.D., Saunders College Publishing
|
