MESOZOIC AND CENOZOIC
Scale information
All this timeline has an scale of 1cm= 35Ma (aprox)
Around 30 million years ago, the Alpine Orogeny took place, forming major mountain ranges such as the Himalayas, the Alps, and the Pyrenees due to the collision of tectonic plates. The Indian Plate collided with the Eurasian Plate, pushing the land upward and creating some of the highest mountains on Earth. These geological changes affected climate patterns around the world, making some regions colder and drier while changing wind and rainfall systems.
During the early Cenozoic Era, mammals experienced a great diversification and became the dominant animals on Earth after the extinction of the dinosaurs. Many modern groups such as primates, horses, whales, and large land mammals appeared and evolved quickly. The climate during this period was generally warm and humid, with high levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and enough oxygen to support complex life. The continents were already similar to their current positions, although tectonic movement continued slowly
Origin (230M years ago): They started small and agile. Their main advantage was an upright posture (legs directly under the body), making them faster and more efficient than other reptiles. Dominance: A mass extinction at the end of the Triassic period wiped out their competitors. Dinosaurs survived and took over the planet for the next 135 million years. Appearance: They adapted into diverse forms: some became giants with long necks, others grew horns and armor for defense, and many actually had colorful feathers like modern birds.
About 300,000 years ago, Homo sapiens first appeared in Africa. Early humans developed advanced tools, language, social organization, and culture, which allowed them to survive in different environments and eventually spread across the planet. During this time, Earth was still experiencing glacial cycles, so the climate was unstable and often cold in many regions. A characteristic index fossil from the Cenozoic is the Nummulite, which is very useful for geologists because it was widespread and helps date sedimentary rocks from this era.
When (140M years ago): The first flowering plants—scientifically called angiosperms—appeared during the early Cretaceous period. Before them, the world was dominated by ferns and pine-like trees. The Evolutionary Secret: Unlike older plants that relied on the wind, flowering plants developed flowers and fruits to attract insects and animals to spread their pollen and seeds. This teamwork made them reproduce incredibly fast. The Global Impact: They changed the planet forever. The sudden explosion of colors, fruits, and seeds allowed modern insects (like bees), mammals, and birds to evolve and thrive alongside the last dinosaurs.
The Event (66M years ago): A massive asteroid, about 10 to 15 kilometers wide, crashed into Earth at the end of the Cretaceous period. It hit the Yucatan Peninsula in modern-day Mexico, creating the Chicxulub crater. The Global Catastrophe: The impact was so violent that it triggered global tsunamis, massive wildfires, and threw billions of tons of dust and sulfur into the atmosphere. This blocked out the sun, causing an "impact winter" that stopped photosynthesis and froze the planet. The Mass Extinction: Without sunlight, plants died, herbivores starved, and carnivores followed. This ecological collapse wiped out about 75% of all species on Earth, including all non-avian dinosaurs, marking the end of the Mesozoic Era.
What was Pangea? Around 250 million years ago, all of Earth's continents were joined together into one single supercontinent called Pangea, surrounded by a massive ocean called Panthalassa. The First Split (The Fragments): During the Jurassic period (about 175 million years ago), tectonic plate movements caused Pangea to crack and split into two smaller supercontinents: Laurasia (North): Formed what is now North America, Europe, and Asia. Gondwana (South): Formed South America, Africa, Antarctica, Australia, and India. The Final Separation: Over the next millions of years, these two fragments split even further. The Atlantic Ocean opened up, India crashed into Asia (creating the Himalayas), and the continents slowly drifted into the positions we see today.
At the beginning of the Pleistocene, large glaciations started to occur across Earth. Huge ice sheets covered extensive parts of North America and Europe, and global temperatures became much colder. Sea levels dropped, and many animals adapted to freezing conditions, including mammoths and woolly rhinoceroses. The climate alternated between cold glacial periods and warmer interglacial periods, while the atmosphere remained similar to today with sufficient oxygen for modern life.
MESOZOIC AND CENOZOIC
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Transcript
MESOZOIC AND CENOZOIC
Scale information
All this timeline has an scale of 1cm= 35Ma (aprox)
Around 30 million years ago, the Alpine Orogeny took place, forming major mountain ranges such as the Himalayas, the Alps, and the Pyrenees due to the collision of tectonic plates. The Indian Plate collided with the Eurasian Plate, pushing the land upward and creating some of the highest mountains on Earth. These geological changes affected climate patterns around the world, making some regions colder and drier while changing wind and rainfall systems.
During the early Cenozoic Era, mammals experienced a great diversification and became the dominant animals on Earth after the extinction of the dinosaurs. Many modern groups such as primates, horses, whales, and large land mammals appeared and evolved quickly. The climate during this period was generally warm and humid, with high levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and enough oxygen to support complex life. The continents were already similar to their current positions, although tectonic movement continued slowly
Origin (230M years ago): They started small and agile. Their main advantage was an upright posture (legs directly under the body), making them faster and more efficient than other reptiles. Dominance: A mass extinction at the end of the Triassic period wiped out their competitors. Dinosaurs survived and took over the planet for the next 135 million years. Appearance: They adapted into diverse forms: some became giants with long necks, others grew horns and armor for defense, and many actually had colorful feathers like modern birds.
About 300,000 years ago, Homo sapiens first appeared in Africa. Early humans developed advanced tools, language, social organization, and culture, which allowed them to survive in different environments and eventually spread across the planet. During this time, Earth was still experiencing glacial cycles, so the climate was unstable and often cold in many regions. A characteristic index fossil from the Cenozoic is the Nummulite, which is very useful for geologists because it was widespread and helps date sedimentary rocks from this era.
When (140M years ago): The first flowering plants—scientifically called angiosperms—appeared during the early Cretaceous period. Before them, the world was dominated by ferns and pine-like trees. The Evolutionary Secret: Unlike older plants that relied on the wind, flowering plants developed flowers and fruits to attract insects and animals to spread their pollen and seeds. This teamwork made them reproduce incredibly fast. The Global Impact: They changed the planet forever. The sudden explosion of colors, fruits, and seeds allowed modern insects (like bees), mammals, and birds to evolve and thrive alongside the last dinosaurs.
The Event (66M years ago): A massive asteroid, about 10 to 15 kilometers wide, crashed into Earth at the end of the Cretaceous period. It hit the Yucatan Peninsula in modern-day Mexico, creating the Chicxulub crater. The Global Catastrophe: The impact was so violent that it triggered global tsunamis, massive wildfires, and threw billions of tons of dust and sulfur into the atmosphere. This blocked out the sun, causing an "impact winter" that stopped photosynthesis and froze the planet. The Mass Extinction: Without sunlight, plants died, herbivores starved, and carnivores followed. This ecological collapse wiped out about 75% of all species on Earth, including all non-avian dinosaurs, marking the end of the Mesozoic Era.
What was Pangea? Around 250 million years ago, all of Earth's continents were joined together into one single supercontinent called Pangea, surrounded by a massive ocean called Panthalassa. The First Split (The Fragments): During the Jurassic period (about 175 million years ago), tectonic plate movements caused Pangea to crack and split into two smaller supercontinents: Laurasia (North): Formed what is now North America, Europe, and Asia. Gondwana (South): Formed South America, Africa, Antarctica, Australia, and India. The Final Separation: Over the next millions of years, these two fragments split even further. The Atlantic Ocean opened up, India crashed into Asia (creating the Himalayas), and the continents slowly drifted into the positions we see today.
At the beginning of the Pleistocene, large glaciations started to occur across Earth. Huge ice sheets covered extensive parts of North America and Europe, and global temperatures became much colder. Sea levels dropped, and many animals adapted to freezing conditions, including mammoths and woolly rhinoceroses. The climate alternated between cold glacial periods and warmer interglacial periods, while the atmosphere remained similar to today with sufficient oxygen for modern life.