Timeline of the evolutionary history of life

Last updated

The timeline of the evolutionary history of life represents the current scientific theory outlining the major events during the development of life on planet Earth. Dates in this article are consensus estimates based on scientific evidence, mainly fossils.

Contents

In biology, 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 kingdoms to species, and individual organisms and molecules, such as DNA and proteins. The similarities between all present day organisms imply a common ancestor from which all known species, living and extinct, have diverged. More than 99 percent of all species that ever lived (over five billion) [1] are estimated to be extinct. [2] [3] Estimates on the number of Earth's current species range from 10 million to 14 million, [4] with about 1.2 million or 14% documented, the rest not yet described. [5] However, a 2016 report estimates an additional 1 trillion microbial species, with only 0.001% described. [6]

There has been controversy between more traditional views of steadily increasing biodiversity, and a newer view of cycles of annihilation and diversification, so that certain past times, such as the Cambrian explosion, experienced maximums of diversity followed by sharp winnowing. [7] [8]

Extinction

Visual representation of the history of life on Earth as a spiral Geological time spiral.png
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, [9] often comprising an accumulation of smaller extinction events over a relatively brief period. [10]

The first known mass extinction was the Great Oxidation Event 2.4 billion years ago, which killed most of the planet's obligate anaerobes. Researchers have identified five other major extinction events in Earth's history, with estimated losses below: [11]

Smaller extinction events have occurred in the periods between, with some dividing geologic time periods and epochs. The Holocene extinction event is currently under way. [12]

Factors in mass extinctions include continental drift, changes in atmospheric and marine chemistry, volcanism and other aspects of mountain formation, changes in glaciation, changes in sea level, and impact events. [10]

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

Moon FullMoon2010.jpg
Moon

4540 Ma – 4031 Ma

DateEvent
4540 Ma Planet Earth forms from the accretion disc revolving around the young Sun, perhaps preceded by formation of organic compounds necessary for life in the surrounding protoplanetary disk of cosmic dust. [13] [14]
4510 MaAccording to the giant-impact hypothesis, the Moon originated when Earth and the hypothesized planet Theia collided, sending into orbit myriad moonlets which eventually coalesced into our single Moon. [15] [16] The Moon's gravitational pull stabilised Earth's fluctuating axis of rotation, setting up regular climatic conditions favoring abiogenesis. [17]
4404 MaEvidence of the first liquid water on Earth which were found in the oldest known zircon crystals. [18]
4280–3770 Ma Earliest possible appearance of life on Earth. [19] [20] [21] [22]

Archean Eon

Fragment of the Acasta Gneiss exhibited at the Museum of Natural History in Vienna Acasta gneiss.jpg
Fragment of the Acasta Gneiss exhibited at the Museum of Natural History in Vienna
The cyanobacterial-algal mat, salty lake on the White Sea seaside Cyanobacterial-algal mat.jpg
The cyanobacterial-algal mat, salty lake on the White Sea seaside
Halobacterium sp. strain NRC-1 Halobacteria.jpg
Halobacterium sp. strain NRC-1

4031 Ma – 2500 Ma

DateEvent
4100 MaEarliest possible preservation of biogenic carbon. [23] [24]
4100–3800 Ma Late Heavy Bombardment (LHB): extended barrage by meteoroids impacting the inner planets. Thermal flux from widespread hydrothermal activity during the LHB may have aided abiogenesis and life's early diversification. [25] Possible remains of biotic life were found in 4.1 billion-year-old rocks in Western Australia. [26] [27] Probable origin of life.
4000 MaFormation of a greenstone belt of the Acasta Gneiss of the Slave craton in northwest Canada - the oldest known rock belt. [28]
3900–2500 Ma Cells resembling prokaryotes appear. [29] These first organisms are believed to have been chemoautotrophs, using carbon dioxide as a carbon source and oxidizing inorganic materials to extract energy.
3800 MaFormation of a greenstone belt of the Isua complex in western Greenland, whose isotope frequencies suggest the presence of life. [28] The earliest evidence for life on Earth includes: 3.8 billion-year-old biogenic hematite in a banded iron formation of the Nuvvuagittuq Greenstone Belt in Canada; [30] graphite in 3.7 billion-year-old metasedimentary rocks in western Greenland; [31] and microbial mat fossils in 3.48 billion-year-old sandstone in Western Australia. [32] [33]
3800–3500 Ma Last universal common ancestor (LUCA): [34] [35] split between bacteria and archaea. [36]

Bacteria develop primitive photosynthesis, which at first did not produce oxygen. [37] These organisms exploit a proton gradient to generate adenosine triphosphate (ATP), a mechanism used by virtually all subsequent organisms. [38] [39] [40]

3000 MaPhotosynthesizing cyanobacteria using water as a reducing agent and producing oxygen as a waste product. [41] Free oxygen initially oxidizes dissolved iron in the oceans, creating iron ore. Oxygen concentration in the atmosphere slowly rises, poisoning many bacteria and eventually triggering the Great Oxygenation Event.
2800 MaOldest evidence for microbial life on land in the form of organic matter-rich paleosols, ephemeral ponds and alluvial sequences, some bearing microfossils. [42]

Proterozoic Eon

Detail of the eukaryote endomembrane system and its components Endomembrane system diagram en (edit).svg
Detail of the eukaryote endomembrane system and its components
Dinoflagellate Ceratium furca Ceratium furca.jpg
Dinoflagellate Ceratium furca
Blepharisma japonicum, a free-living ciliated protozoan Mikrofoto.de-Blepharisma japonicum 15.jpg
Blepharisma japonicum , a free-living ciliated protozoan
Dickinsonia costata, an iconic Ediacaran organism, displays the characteristic quilted appearance of Ediacaran enigmata. DickinsoniaCostata.jpg
Dickinsonia costata , an iconic Ediacaran organism, displays the characteristic quilted appearance of Ediacaran enigmata.

2500 Ma – 539 Ma. Contains the Palaeoproterozoic, Mesoproterozoic and Neoproterozoic eras.

DateEvent
2500 Ma Great Oxidation Event led by cyanobacteria's oxygenic photosynthesis. [41] Commencement of plate tectonics with old marine crust dense enough to subduct. [28]
2023 MaFormation of the Vredefort impact structure, one of the largest and oldest verified impact structures on Earth. The crater is estimated to have been between 170–300 kilometres (110–190 mi) across when it first formed. [43]
By 1850 Ma Eukaryotic cells, containing membrane-bound organelles with diverse functions, probably derived from prokaryotes engulfing each other via phagocytosis. (See Symbiogenesis and Endosymbiont). Bacterial viruses (bacteriophages) emerge before or soon after the divergence of the prokaryotic and eukaryotic lineages. [44] Red beds show an oxidising atmosphere, favouring the spread of eukaryotic life. [45] [46] [47]
1500 Ma Volyn biota, a collection of exceptionally well-preserved microfossils with varying morphologies. [48]
1300 MaEarliest land fungi. [49]
By 1200 Ma Meiosis and sexual reproduction in single-celled eukaryotes, possibly even in the common ancestor of all eukaryotes [50] or in the RNA world. [51] Sexual reproduction may have increased the rate of evolution. [52]
By 1000 MaFirst non-marine eukaryotes move onto land. They were photosynthetic and multicellular, indicating that plants evolved much earlier than originally thought. [53]
750 MaBeginning of animal evolution. [54] [55]
720–630 MaPossible global glaciation [56] [57] which increased the atmospheric oxygen and decreased carbon dioxide, and was either caused by land plant evolution [58] or resulted in it. [59] Opinion is divided on whether it increased or decreased biodiversity or the rate of evolution. [60] [61] [62]
600 MaAccumulation of atmospheric oxygen allows the formation of an ozone layer. [63] Previous land-based life would probably have required other chemicals to attenuate ultraviolet radiation. [42]
580–542 Ma Ediacaran biota, the first large, complex aquatic multicellular organisms. [64]
580–500 Ma Cambrian explosion: most modern animal phyla appear. [65] [66]
550–540 Ma Ctenophora (comb jellies), [67] Porifera (sponges), [68] Anthozoa (corals and sea anemones), [69] Ikaria wariootia (an early Bilaterian). [70]

Phanerozoic Eon

539 Ma – present

The 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 Paleozoic, Mesozoic and Cenozoic, with major mass extinctions at division points.

Palaeozoic Era

538.8 Ma – 251.9 Ma and contains the Cambrian, Ordovician, Silurian, Devonian, Carboniferous and Permian periods.

With only a handful of species surviving today, the Nautiloids flourished during the early Paleozoic era, from the Late Cambrian, where they constituted the main predatory animals. Nautilus belauensis profile.jpg
With only a handful of species surviving today, the Nautiloids flourished during the early Paleozoic era, from the Late Cambrian, where they constituted the main predatory animals.
Haikouichthys, a jawless fish, is popularized as one of the earliest fishes and probably a basal chordate or a basal craniate. Haikouichthys 3d.png
Haikouichthys , a jawless fish, is popularized as one of the earliest fishes and probably a basal chordate or a basal craniate.
Ferns first appear in the fossil record about 360 million years ago in the late Devonian period. Sa-fern.jpg
Ferns first appear in the fossil record about 360 million years ago in the late Devonian period.
Synapsids such as Dimetrodon were the largest terrestrial vertebrates in the Permian period, 299 to 251 million years ago. Dimetrodon grandis 3D Model Reconstruction.png
Synapsids such as Dimetrodon were the largest terrestrial vertebrates in the Permian period, 299 to 251 million years ago.
DateEvent
535 Ma Major diversification of living things in the oceans: arthropods (e.g. trilobites, crustaceans), chordates, echinoderms, molluscs, brachiopods, foraminifers and radiolarians, etc.
530 MaThe first known footprints on land date to 530 Ma. [74]
520 MaEarliest graptolites. [75]
511 MaEarliest crustaceans. [76]
505 Ma Fossilization of the Burgess Shale
500 Ma Jellyfish have existed since at least this time.
485 MaFirst vertebrates with true bones (jawless fishes).
450 MaFirst complete conodonts and echinoids appear.
440 MaFirst agnathan fishes: Heterostraci, Galeaspida, and Pituriaspida.
420 MaEarliest ray-finned fishes, trigonotarbid arachnids, and land scorpions. [77]
410 MaFirst signs of teeth in fish. Earliest Nautilida, lycophytes, and trimerophytes.
488–400 MaFirst cephalopods (nautiloids) [78] and chitons. [79]
395 MaFirst lichens, stoneworts. Earliest harvestmen, mites, hexapods (springtails) and ammonoids. The earliest known tracks on land named the Zachelmie trackways which are possibly related to icthyostegalians. [80]
375 Ma 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. [81]
365 Ma Acanthostega is one of the earliest vertebrates capable of walking. [82]
363 MaBy the start of the Carboniferous Period, the Earth begins to resemble its present state. Insects roamed the land and would soon take to the skies; sharks swam the oceans as top predators, [83] and vegetation covered the land, with seed-bearing plants and forests soon to flourish.

Four-limbed tetrapods gradually gain adaptations which will help them occupy a terrestrial life-habit.

360 MaFirst crabs and ferns. Land flora dominated by seed ferns. The Xinhang forest grows around this time. [84]
350 MaFirst large sharks, ratfishes, and hagfish; first crown tetrapods (with five digits and no fins and scales).
350 MaDiversification of amphibians. [85]
325-335 MaFirst Reptiliomorpha. [86]
330-320 MaFirst amniote vertebrates ( Paleothyris ). [87]
320 Ma Synapsids (precursors to mammals) separate from sauropsids (reptiles) in late Carboniferous. [88]
305 MaThe 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 diapsid reptiles (e.g. Petrolacosaurus ).

280 MaEarliest beetles, seed plants and conifers diversify while lepidodendrids and sphenopsids decrease. Terrestrial temnospondyl amphibians and pelycosaurs (e.g. Dimetrodon ) diversify in species.
275 Ma Therapsid synapsids separate from pelycosaur synapsids.
265 Ma Gorgonopsians appear in the fossil record. [89]
251.9–251.4 MaThe Permian–Triassic extinction event eliminates over 90-95% of marine species. Terrestrial organisms were not as seriously affected as the marine biota. This "clearing of the slate" may have led to an ensuing diversification, but life on land took 30 million years to completely recover. [90]

Mesozoic Era

Utatsusaurus is the earliest-known ichthyopterygian. Utatsusaurus BW.jpg
Utatsusaurus is the earliest-known ichthyopterygian.
Plateosaurus engelhardti Plateosaurus panorama.jpg
Plateosaurus engelhardti
Cycas circinalis Cycas circinalis.jpg
Cycas circinalis
For about 150 million years, dinosaurs were the dominant land animals on Earth. Tyrannosaurus Rex Jane.jpg
For about 150 million years, dinosaurs were the dominant land animals on Earth.

From 251.9 Ma to 66 Ma and containing the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous periods.

DateEvent
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.
250 Ma Triadobatrachus massinoti is the earliest known frog.
248 Ma Sturgeon and paddlefish (Acipenseridae) first appear.
245 MaEarliest ichthyosaurs
240 MaIncrease in diversity of cynodonts and rhynchosaurs
225 MaEarliest dinosaurs (prosauropods), first cardiid bivalves, diversity in cycads, bennettitaleans, and conifers. First teleost fishes. First mammals ( Adelobasileus ).
220 MaSeed-producing Gymnosperm forests dominate the land; herbivores grow to huge sizes to accommodate the large guts necessary to digest the nutrient-poor plants.[ citation needed ] First flies and turtles ( Odontochelys ). First coelophysoid dinosaurs. First mammals from small-sized cynodonts, which transitioned towards a nocturnal, insectivorous, and endothermic lifestyle.
205 Ma Massive Triassic/Jurassic extinction. It wipes out all pseudosuchians except crocodylomorphs, who transitioned to an aquatic habitat, while dinosaurs took over the land and pterosaurs filled the air.
200 MaFirst accepted evidence for viruses infecting eukaryotic cells (the group Geminiviridae). [91] 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 armoured dinosaurs.

195 MaFirst pterosaurs with specialized feeding ( Dorygnathus ). First sauropod dinosaurs. Diversification in small, ornithischian dinosaurs: heterodontosaurids, fabrosaurids, and scelidosaurids.
190 Ma Pliosauroids appear in the fossil record. First lepidopteran insects ( Archaeolepis ), hermit crabs, modern starfish, irregular echinoids, corbulid bivalves, and tubulipore bryozoans. Extensive development of sponge reefs.
176 MaFirst Stegosaurian dinosaurs.
170 MaEarliest salamanders, newts, cryptoclidids, elasmosaurid plesiosaurs, and cladotherian mammals. Sauropod dinosaurs diversify.
168 MaFirst lizards.
165 MaFirst rays and glycymeridid bivalves. First vampire squids. [92]
163 Ma Pterodactyloid pterosaurs first appear. [93]
161 Ma Ceratopsian dinosaurs appear in the fossil record ( Yinlong ) and the oldest known eutherian mammal: Juramaia .
160 Ma Multituberculate mammals (genus Rugosodon ) appear in eastern China.
155 MaFirst blood-sucking insects (ceratopogonids), rudist bivalves, and cheilostome bryozoans. Archaeopteryx , a possible ancestor to the birds, appears in the fossil record, along with triconodontid and symmetrodont mammals. Diversity in stegosaurian and theropod dinosaurs.
131 MaFirst pine trees.
140 Ma Orb-weaver spiders appear.
135 MaRise of the angiosperms. Some of these flowering plants bear structures that attract insects and other animals to spread pollen; other angiosperms are pollinated by wind or water. This innovation causes a major burst of animal coevolution. First freshwater pelomedusid turtles. Earliest krill.
120 MaOldest fossils of heterokonts, including both marine diatoms and silicoflagellates.
115 MaFirst monotreme mammals.
114 MaEarliest bees. [94]
112 Ma Xiphactinus , a large predatory fish, appears in the fossil record.
110 MaFirst hesperornithes, toothed diving birds. Earliest limopsid, verticordiid, and thyasirid bivalves.
100 MaFirst ants. [95]
100–95 Ma Spinosaurus appears in the fossil record. [96]
95 MaFirst crocodilians evolve. [97]
90 MaExtinction of ichthyosaurs. Earliest snakes and nuculanid bivalves. Large diversification in angiosperms: magnoliids, rosids, hamamelidids, monocots, and ginger. Earliest examples of ticks. Probable origins of placental mammals (earliest undisputed fossil evidence is 66 Ma).
86–76 MaDiversification of therian mammals. [98] [99]
70 MaMultituberculate mammals increase in diversity. First yoldiid bivalves. First possible ungulates (Protungulatum).
68–66 Ma Tyrannosaurus , the largest terrestrial predator of western North America, appears in the fossil record. First species of Triceratops. [100]

Cenozoic Era

66 Ma – present

Mount of oxyaenid Patriofelis from the American Museum of Natural History Patriofelis-mount.jpg
Mount of oxyaenid Patriofelis from the American Museum of Natural History
The bat Icaronycteris appeared 52.2 million years ago Icaronycteris index.jpg
The bat Icaronycteris appeared 52.2 million years ago
Grass flowers Grassflowers.jpg
Grass flowers
Reconstructed skeletons of flightless terror bird and ground sloth at the Museu Nacional, Rio de Janeiro 1064376 - Megafauna - Museu Nacional de Historia Natural UFRJ - 22 Outubro 2010 - Rio de Janeiro - Brazil.jpg
Reconstructed skeletons of flightless terror bird and ground sloth at the Museu Nacional, Rio de Janeiro
Diprotodon went extinct about 40,000 years ago as part of the Quaternary extinction event, along with every other Australian creature over 100 kg (220 lb). Diprotodon optatum (2).jpg
Diprotodon went extinct about 40,000 years ago as part of the Quaternary extinction event, along with every other Australian creature over 100 kg (220 lb).
50,000 years ago several different human species coexisted on Earth including modern humans and Homo floresiensis (pictured). Homo floresiensis v 2-0.jpg
50,000 years ago several different human species coexisted on Earth including modern humans and Homo floresiensis (pictured).
American lions exceeded extant lions in size and ranged over much of North America until 11,000 BP. PantheraLeoAtrox1 (retouched).jpg
American lions exceeded extant lions in size and ranged over much of North America until 11,000 BP.
DateEvent
66 MaThe Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event eradicates about half of all animal species, including mosasaurs, pterosaurs, plesiosaurs, ammonites, belemnites, rudist and inoceramid bivalves, most planktic foraminifers, and all of the dinosaurs excluding the birds. [101]
66 Ma-Rapid dominance of conifers and ginkgos in high latitudes, along with mammals becoming the dominant species. First psammobiid bivalves. Earliest rodents. Rapid diversification in ants.
63 MaEvolution of the creodonts, an important group of meat-eating (carnivorous) mammals.
62 MaEvolution of the first penguins.
60 MaDiversification of large, flightless birds. Earliest true primates,[ who? ] along with the first semelid bivalves, edentate, carnivoran and lipotyphlan mammals, and owls. The ancestors of the carnivorous mammals (miacids) were alive.[ citation needed ]
59 MaEarliest sailfish appear.
56 Ma Gastornis , a large flightless bird, appears in the fossil record.
55 MaModern bird groups diversify (first song birds, parrots, loons, swifts, woodpeckers), first whale ( Himalayacetus ), earliest lagomorphs, armadillos, appearance of sirenian, proboscidean mammals in the fossil record. Flowering plants continue to diversify. The ancestor (according to theory) of the species in the genus Carcharodon , the early mako shark Isurus hastalis, is alive. Ungulates split into artiodactyla and perissodactyla, with some members of the former returning to the sea.
52 MaFirst bats appear ( Onychonycteris ).
50 MaPeak diversity of dinoflagellates and nannofossils, increase in diversity of anomalodesmatan and heteroconch bivalves, brontotheres, tapirs, rhinoceroses, and camels appear in the fossil record, diversification of primates.
40 MaModern-type butterflies and moths appear. Extinction of Gastornis . Basilosaurus , one of the first of the giant whales, appeared in the fossil record.
38 MaEarliest bears.
37 MaFirst nimravid ("false saber-toothed cats") carnivores — these species are unrelated to modern-type felines. First alligators and ruminants.
35 Ma Grasses diversify from among the monocot angiosperms; grasslands begin to expand. Slight increase in diversity of cold-tolerant ostracods and foraminifers, along with major extinctions of gastropods, reptiles, amphibians, and multituberculate mammals. Many modern mammal groups begin to appear: first glyptodonts, ground sloths, canids, peccaries, and the first eagles and hawks. Diversity in toothed and baleen whales.
33 MaEvolution of the thylacinid marsupials ( Badjcinus ).
30 MaFirst balanids and eucalypts, extinction of embrithopod and brontothere mammals, earliest pigs and cats.
28 Ma Paraceratherium appears in the fossil record, the largest terrestrial mammal that ever lived. First pelicans.
25 Ma Pelagornis sandersi appears in the fossil record, the largest flying bird that ever lived.
25 MaFirst deer.
24 MaFirst pinnipeds.
23 MaEarliest ostriches, trees representative of most major groups of oaks have appeared by now. [102]
20 MaFirst giraffes, hyenas, and giant anteaters, increase in bird diversity.
17 MaFirst birds of the genus Corvus (crows).
15 MaGenus Mammut appears in the fossil record, first bovids and kangaroos, diversity in Australian megafauna.
10 MaGrasslands and savannas are established, diversity in insects, especially ants and termites, horses increase in body size and develop high-crowned teeth, major diversification in grassland mammals and snakes.
9.5 Ma [ dubious – discuss ] Great American Interchange, where various land and freshwater faunas migrated between North and South America. Armadillos, opossums, hummingbirds Phorusrhacids, Ground Sloths, Glyptodonts, and Meridiungulates traveled to North America, while horses, tapirs, saber-toothed cats, jaguars, bears, coaties, ferrets, otters, skunks and deer entered South America.
9 MaFirst platypuses.
6.5 MaFirst hominins ( Sahelanthropus ).
6 Ma Australopithecines diversify ( Orrorin , Ardipithecus ).
5 MaFirst tree sloths and hippopotami, diversification of grazing herbivores like zebras and elephants, large carnivorous mammals like lions and the genus Canis , burrowing rodents, kangaroos, birds, and small carnivores, vultures increase in size, decrease in the number of perissodactyl mammals. Extinction of nimravid carnivores. First leopard seals.
4.8 Ma Mammoths appear in the fossil record.
4.5 Ma Marine iguanas diverge from land iguanas.
4 Ma Australopithecus evolves. Stupendemys appears in the fossil record as the largest freshwater turtle, first modern elephants, giraffes, zebras, lions, rhinoceros and gazelles appear in the fossil record
3.6 Ma Blue whales grow to modern size.
3 MaEarliest swordfish.
2.7 Ma Paranthropus evolves.
2.5 MaEarliest species of Arctodus and Smilodon evolve.
2 MaFirst members of genus Homo, Homo Habilis, appear in the fossil record. Diversification of conifers in high latitudes. The eventual ancestor of cattle, aurochs (Bos primigenus), evolves in India.
1.7 MaAustralopithecines go extinct.
1.2 MaEvolution of Homo antecessor . The last members of Paranthropus die out.
1 MaFirst coyotes.
810 kaFirst wolves
600 kaEvolution of Homo heidelbergensis.
400 kaFirst polar bears.
350 kaEvolution of Neanderthals.
300 ka Gigantopithecus , a giant relative of the orangutan from Asia dies out.
250 kaAnatomically modern humans appear in Africa. [103] [104] [105] Around 50 ka they start colonising the other continents, replacing Neanderthals in Europe and other hominins in Asia.
70 kaGenetic bottleneck in humans (Toba catastrophe theory).
40 kaLast giant monitor lizards (Varanus priscus) die out.
35-25 kaExtinction of Neanderthals. Domestication of dogs.
15 kaLast woolly rhinoceros (Coelodonta antiquitatis) are believed to have gone extinct.
11 kaShort-faced bears vanish from North America, with the last giant ground sloths dying out. All Equidae become extinct in North America. Domestication of various ungulates.
10 ka Holocene epoch starts [106] after the Last Glacial Maximum. Last mainland species of woolly mammoth (Mammuthus primigenus) die out, as does the last Smilodon species.
8 kaThe giant lemur dies out.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cambrian</span> First period of the Paleozoic Era, 539–485 million years ago

The Cambrian is the first geological period of the Paleozoic Era, and the Phanerozoic Eon. The Cambrian lasted 53.4 million years from the end of the preceding Ediacaran period 538.8 Ma to the beginning of the Ordovician Period 485.4 Ma.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ediacaran</span> Third and last period of the Neoproterozoic Era

The Ediacaran is a geological period of the Neoproterozoic Era that spans 96 million years from the end of the Cryogenian Period at 635 Mya to the beginning of the Cambrian Period at 538.8 Mya. It is the last period of the Proterozoic Eon as well as the last of the so-called "Precambrian supereon", before the beginning of the subsequent Cambrian Period marks the start of the Phanerozoic Eon, where recognizable fossil evidence of life becomes common.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Extinction event</span> Widespread and rapid decrease in the biodiversity on Earth

An extinction event is a widespread and rapid decrease in the biodiversity on Earth. Such an event is identified by a sharp fall in the diversity and abundance of multicellular organisms. It occurs when the rate of extinction increases with respect to the background extinction rate and the rate of speciation. Estimates of the number of major mass extinctions in the last 540 million years range from as few as five to more than twenty. These differences stem from disagreement as to what constitutes a "major" extinction event, and the data chosen to measure past diversity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paleontology</span> Study of life before the Holocene epoch

Paleontology, also spelled palaeontology or palæontology, is the scientific study of life that existed prior to the start of the Holocene epoch. It includes the study of fossils to classify organisms and study their interactions with each other and their environments. Paleontological observations have been documented as far back as the 5th century BC. The science became established in the 18th century as a result of Georges Cuvier's work on comparative anatomy, and developed rapidly in the 19th century. The term has been used since 1822 formed from Greek παλαιός, ὄν, and λόγος.

The PaleozoicEra is the first of three geological eras of the Phanerozoic Eon. Beginning 538.8 million years ago (Ma), it succeeds the Neoproterozoic and ends 251.9 Ma at the start of the Mesozoic Era. The Paleozoic is subdivided into six geologic periods, Cambrian, Ordovician, Silurian, Devonian, Carboniferous and Permian. Some geological timescales divide the Paleozoic informally into early and late sub-eras: the Early Paleozoic consisting of the Cambrian, Ordovician and Silurian; the Late Paleozoic consisting of the Devonian, Carboniferous and Permian.

The Precambrian is the earliest part of Earth's history, set before the current Phanerozoic Eon. The Precambrian is so named because it preceded the Cambrian, the first period of the Phanerozoic Eon, which is named after Cambria, the Latinized name for Wales, where rocks from this age were first studied. The Precambrian accounts for 88% of the Earth's geologic time.

The Phanerozoic is the current and the latest of the four geologic eons in the Earth's geologic time scale, covering the time period from 538.8 million years ago to the present. It is the eon during which abundant animal and plant life has proliferated, diversified and colonized various niches on the Earth's surface, beginning with the Cambrian period when animals first developed hard shells that can be clearly preserved in the fossil record. The time before the Phanerozoic, collectively called the Precambrian, is now divided into the Hadean, Archaean and Proterozoic eons.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Silurian</span> Third period of the Paleozoic Era, 443–419 million years ago

The Silurian is a geologic period and system spanning 24.6 million years from the end of the Ordovician Period, at 443.8 million years ago (Mya), to the beginning of the Devonian Period, 419.2 Mya. The Silurian is the third and shortest period of the Paleozoic Era, and the third of twelve periods of the Phanerozoic Eon. As with other geologic periods, the rock beds that define the period's start and end are well identified, but the exact dates are uncertain by a few million years. The base of the Silurian is set at a series of major Ordovician–Silurian extinction events when up to 60% of marine genera were wiped out.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maotianshan Shales</span> Series of Early Cambrian deposits in the Chiungchussu Formation

The Maotianshan Shales (帽天山页岩) are a series of Early Cambrian sedimentary deposits in the Chiungchussu Formation, famous for their Konservat Lagerstätten, deposits known for the exceptional preservation of fossilized organisms or traces. The Maotianshan Shales form one of some forty Cambrian fossil locations worldwide exhibiting exquisite preservation of rarely preserved, non-mineralized soft tissue, comparable to the fossils of the Burgess Shale of British Columbia, Canada. They take their name from Maotianshan Hill in Chengjiang County, Yunnan Province, China.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Megafauna</span> Large animals

In zoology, megafauna are large animals. The precise definition of the term varies widely, though a common threshold is approximately 45 kilograms (99 lb), with other thresholds as low as 10 kilograms (22 lb) or as high as 1,000 kilograms (2,200 lb). Large body size is generally associated with other traits, such as having a slow rate of reproduction and, in large herbivores, reduced or negligible adult mortality from being killed by predators.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marine life</span> Organisms that live in salt water

Marine life, sea life or ocean life is the collective ecological communities that encompass all aquatic animals, plants, algae, fungi, protists, single-celled microorganisms and associated viruses living in the saline water of marine habitats, either the sea water of marginal seas and oceans, or the brackish water of coastal wetlands, lagoons, estuaries and inland seas. As of 2023, more than 242,000 marine species have been documented, and perhaps two million marine species are yet to be documented. An average of 2,332 new species per year are being described. Marine life is studied scientifically in both marine biology and in biological oceanography.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of Earth</span>

The natural history of Earth concerns the development of planet Earth from its formation to the present day. Nearly all branches of natural science have contributed to understanding of the main events of Earth's past, characterized by constant geological change and biological evolution.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Evolution of molluscs</span> The origin and diversification of molluscs through geologic time

The evolution of the molluscs is the way in which the Mollusca, one of the largest groups of invertebrate animals, evolved. This phylum includes gastropods, bivalves, scaphopods, cephalopods, and several other groups. The fossil record of mollusks is relatively complete, and they are well represented in most fossil-bearing marine strata. Very early organisms which have dubiously been compared to molluscs include Kimberella and Odontogriphus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Andrew H. Knoll</span> American paleontologist

Andrew Herbert Knoll is the Fisher Research Professor of Natural History and a Research Professor of Earth and Planetary Sciences at Harvard University. Born in West Reading, Pennsylvania, in 1951, Andrew Knoll graduated from Lehigh University with a Bachelor of Arts in 1973 and received his Ph.D. from Harvard University in 1977 for a dissertation titled "Studies in Archean and Early Proterozoic Paleontology." Knoll taught at Oberlin College for five years before returning to Harvard as a professor in 1982. At Harvard, he serves in the departments of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology and Earth and Planetary Sciences.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ediacaran biota</span> Life of the Ediacaran period

The Ediacaranbiota is a taxonomic period classification that consists of all life forms that were present on Earth during the Ediacaran Period. These were enigmatic tubular and frond-shaped, mostly sessile, organisms. Trace fossils of these organisms have been found worldwide, and represent the earliest known complex multicellular organisms. The term "Ediacara biota" has received criticism from some scientists due to its alleged inconsistency, arbitrary exclusion of certain fossils, and inability to be precisely defined.

The history of life on Earth traces the processes by which living and extinct organisms evolved, from the earliest emergence of life to the present day. Earth formed about 4.5 billion years ago and evidence suggests that life emerged prior to 3.7 Ga. The similarities among all known present-day species indicate that they have diverged through the process of evolution from a common ancestor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Evolution of fungi</span> Origin and diversification of fungi through geologic time

Fungi diverged from other life around 1.5 billion years ago, with the glomaleans branching from the "higher fungi" (dikaryans) at ~570 million years ago, according to DNA analysis. Fungi probably colonized the land during the Cambrian, over 500 million years ago,, and possibly 635 million years ago during the Ediacaran, but terrestrial fossils only become uncontroversial and common during the Devonian, 400 million years ago.

The end-Ediacaran extinction is a mass extinction believed to have occurred near the end of the Ediacaran period, the final period of the Proterozoic eon. Evidence suggesting that such a mass extinction occurred includes a massive reduction in diversity of acritarchs, the sudden disappearance of the Ediacara biota and calcifying organisms, and the time gap before Cambrian organisms "replaced" them. Some lines of evidence suggests that there may have been two distinct pulses of the extinction event, one occurring 550 million years ago and the other 539 million years ago.

The Cambrian explosion is an interval of time beginning approximately 538.8 million years ago in the Cambrian period of the early Paleozoic, when a sudden radiation of complex life occurred and practically all major animal phyla started appearing in the fossil record. It lasted for about 13 to 25 million years and resulted in the divergence of most modern metazoan phyla. The event was accompanied by major diversification in other groups of organisms as well.

Carbotubulus is a genus of extinct worm belonging to the group Lobopodia and known from the Carboniferous Carbondale Formation of the Mazon Creek area in Illinois, US. A monotypic genus, it contains one species Carbotubulus waloszeki. It was discovered and described by Joachim T. Haug, Georg Mayer, Carolin Haug, and Derek E.G. Briggs in 2012. With an age of about 300 million years, it is the first long-legged lobopodian discovered after the period of Cambrian explosion.

References

  1. ↑ McKinney 1997 , p.  110
  2. ↑ Stearns, Beverly Peterson; Stearns, S. C.; Stearns, Stephen C. (2000). Watching, from the Edge of Extinction. Yale University Press. p. preface x. ISBN   978-0-300-08469-6 . Retrieved 30 May 2017.
  3. ↑ Novacek, Michael J. (November 8, 2014). "Prehistory's Brilliant Future". The New York Times . New York. ISSN   0362-4331. Archived from the original on 2022-01-01. Retrieved 2014-12-25.
  4. ↑ Miller & Spoolman 2012 , p.  62
  5. ↑ Mora, Camilo; Tittensor, Derek P.; Adl, Sina; et al. (August 23, 2011). "How Many Species Are There on Earth and in the Ocean?". PLOS Biology . 9 (8): e1001127. doi: 10.1371/journal.pbio.1001127 . ISSN   1545-7885. PMC   3160336 . PMID   21886479.
  6. ↑ Staff (2 May 2016). "Researchers find that Earth may be home to 1 trillion species". National Science Foundation . Retrieved 11 April 2018.
  7. ↑ Hickman, Crystal; Starn, Autumn. "The Burgess Shale & Models of Evolution". Reconstructions of the Burgess Shale and What They Mean... Morgantown, WV: West Virginia University. Archived from the original on 2021-02-25. Retrieved 2015-10-18.
  8. ↑ Barton et al. 2007 , Figure 10.20 Four diagrams of evolutionary models
  9. ↑ "Measuring the sixth mass extinction - Cosmos". cosmosmagazine.com. Archived from the original on 2019-05-10. Retrieved 2016-08-09.
  10. 1 2 "History of life on Earth". Archived from the original on 2016-08-16. Retrieved 2016-08-09.
  11. ↑ "The big five mass extinctions - Cosmos". cosmosmagazine.com. 5 July 2015.
  12. ↑ Myers, Norman; Knoll, Andrew H. (May 8, 2001). "The biotic crisis and the future of evolution". Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 98 (1): 5389–5392. Bibcode:2001PNAS...98.5389M. doi: 10.1073/pnas.091092498 . ISSN   0027-8424. PMC   33223 . PMID   11344283.
  13. ↑ Moskowitz, Clara (March 29, 2012). "Life's Building Blocks May Have Formed in Dust Around Young Sun". Space.com . Salt Lake City, UT: Purch . Retrieved 2012-03-30.
  14. ↑ Dalrymple, G. Brent (2001). "The age of the Earth in the twentieth century: a problem (mostly) solved". Geological Society, London, Special Publications. 190 (1): 205–221. Bibcode:2001GSLSP.190..205D. doi:10.1144/gsl.sp.2001.190.01.14. S2CID   130092094 . Retrieved 2022-10-03.
  15. ↑ Herres, Gregg; Hartmann, William K (2010-09-07). "The Origin of the Moon". Planetary Science Institute. Tucson, AZ. Retrieved 2015-03-04.
  16. ↑ Barboni, Melanie; Boehnke, Patrick; Keller, Brenhin; Kohl, Issaku E.; Schoene, Blair; Young, Edward D.; McKeegan, Kevin D. (2017-01-11). "Early formation of the Moon 4.51 billion years ago". Science Advances. 3 (1): e1602365. Bibcode:2017SciA....3E2365B. doi:10.1126/sciadv.1602365. ISSN   2375-2548. PMC   5226643 . PMID   28097222.
  17. ↑ Astrobio (September 24, 2001). "Making the Moon". Astrobiology Magazine (Based on a Southwest Research Institute press release). ISSN   2152-1239. Archived from the original on 2015-09-08. Retrieved 2015-03-04. Because the Moon helps stabilize the tilt of the Earth's rotation, it prevents the Earth from wobbling between climatic extremes. Without the Moon, seasonal shifts would likely outpace even the most adaptable forms of life.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  18. ↑ Wilde, Simon A.; Valley, John W.; Peck, William H.; Graham, Colin M. (January 11, 2001). "Evidence from detrital zircons for the existence of continental crust and oceans on the Earth 4.4 Gyr ago" (PDF). Nature. 409 (6817): 175–178. doi:10.1038/35051550. ISSN   1476-4687. PMID   11196637. S2CID   4319774.
  19. ↑ Dodd, Matthew S.; Papineau, Dominic; Grenne, Tor; Slack, John F.; Rittner, Martin; Pirajno, Franco; O'Neil, Jonathan; Little, Crispin T. S. (2 March 2017). "Evidence for early life in Earth's oldest hydrothermal vent precipitates" (PDF). Nature. 543 (7643): 60–64. Bibcode:2017Natur.543...60D. doi: 10.1038/nature21377 . PMID   28252057. S2CID   2420384.
  20. ↑ Zimmer, Carl (1 March 2017). "Scientists Say Canadian Bacteria Fossils May Be Earth's Oldest". The New York Times . Archived from the original on 2022-01-01. Retrieved 2 March 2017.
  21. ↑ Ghosh, Pallab (1 March 2017). "Earliest evidence of life on Earth 'found'". BBC News . Retrieved 2 March 2017.
  22. ↑ Dunham, Will (1 March 2017). "Canadian bacteria-like fossils called oldest evidence of life". Reuters. Archived from the original on March 2, 2017. Retrieved 1 March 2017.
  23. ↑ "4.1-billion-year-old crystal may hold earliest signs of life". 2015-10-19. Retrieved 2023-08-08.
  24. ↑ Bell, Elizabeth A.; Boehnke, Patrick; Harrison, T. Mark; Mao, Wendy L. (2015-11-24). "Potentially biogenic carbon preserved in a 4.1 billion-year-old zircon". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 112 (47): 14518–14521. Bibcode:2015PNAS..11214518B. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1517557112 . ISSN   0027-8424. PMC   4664351 . PMID   26483481.
  25. ↑ Abramov, Oleg; Mojzsis, Stephen J. (May 21, 2009). "Microbial habitability of the Hadean Earth during the late heavy bombardment" (PDF). Nature . 459 (7245): 419–422. Bibcode:2009Natur.459..419A. doi:10.1038/nature08015. ISSN   0028-0836. PMID   19458721. S2CID   3304147. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-11-12. Retrieved 2015-03-04.
  26. ↑ Borenstein, Seth (October 19, 2015). "Hints of life on what was thought to be desolate early Earth". Excite . Yonkers, NY: Mindspark Interactive Network. Associated Press . Retrieved 2015-10-20.
  27. ↑ Bell, Elizabeth A.; Boehnike, Patrick; Harrison, T. Mark; et al. (November 24, 2015). "Potentially biogenic carbon preserved in a 4.1 billion-year-old zircon" (PDF). Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 112 (47): 14518–14521. Bibcode:2015PNAS..11214518B. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1517557112 . ISSN   0027-8424. PMC   4664351 . PMID   26483481 . Retrieved 2015-12-30.
  28. 1 2 3 Bjornerud 2005
  29. ↑ Woese, Carl; Gogarten, J. Peter (October 21, 1999). "When did eukaryotic cells (cells with nuclei and other internal organelles) first evolve? What do we know about how they evolved from earlier life-forms?". Scientific American . ISSN   0036-8733 . Retrieved 2015-03-04.
  30. ↑ Nicole Mortilanno. "Oldest traces of life on Earth found in Quebec, dating back roughly 3.8 billion years". CBC News.
  31. ↑ Ohtomo, Yoko; Kakegawa, Takeshi; Ishida, Akizumi; et al. (January 2014). "Evidence for biogenic graphite in early Archaean Isua metasedimentary rocks". Nature Geoscience . 7 (1): 25–28. Bibcode:2014NatGe...7...25O. doi:10.1038/ngeo2025. ISSN   1752-0894.
  32. ↑ Borenstein, Seth (November 13, 2013). "Oldest fossil found: Meet your microbial mom". Excite. Yonkers, NY: Mindspark Interactive Network. Associated Press. Retrieved 2013-11-15.
  33. ↑ Noffke, Nora; Christian, Daniel; Wacey, David; Hazen, Robert M. (November 8, 2013). "Microbially Induced Sedimentary Structures Recording an Ancient Ecosystem in the ca. 3.48 Billion-Year-Old Dresser Formation, Pilbara, Western Australia". Astrobiology . 13 (12): 1103–1124. Bibcode:2013AsBio..13.1103N. doi:10.1089/ast.2013.1030. ISSN   1531-1074. PMC   3870916 . PMID   24205812.
  34. ↑ Doolittle, W. Ford (February 2000). "Uprooting the Tree of Life" (PDF). Scientific American . 282 (2): 90–95. Bibcode:2000SciAm.282b..90D. doi:10.1038/scientificamerican0200-90. ISSN   0036-8733. PMID   10710791. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2006-09-07. Retrieved 2015-04-05.
  35. ↑ Glansdorff, Nicolas; Ying Xu; Labedan, Bernard (July 9, 2008). "The Last Universal Common Ancestor: emergence, constitution and genetic legacy of an elusive forerunner". Biology Direct . 3: 29. doi: 10.1186/1745-6150-3-29 . ISSN   1745-6150. PMC   2478661 . PMID   18613974.
  36. ↑ Hahn, Jürgen; Haug, Pat (May 1986). "Traces of Archaebacteria in ancient sediments". Systematic and Applied Microbiology. 7 (2–3): 178–183. doi:10.1016/S0723-2020(86)80002-9. ISSN   0723-2020.
  37. ↑ Olson, John M. (May 2006). "Photosynthesis in the Archean era". Photosynthesis Research. 88 (2): 109–117. Bibcode:2006PhoRe..88..109O. doi:10.1007/s11120-006-9040-5. ISSN   0166-8595. PMID   16453059. S2CID   20364747.
  38. ↑ "Proton Gradient, Cell Origin, ATP Synthase - Learn Science at Scitable". www.nature.com.
  39. ↑ Romano, Antonio H.; Conway, Tyrrell (July–September 1996). "Evolution of carbohydrate metabolic pathways". Research in Microbiology. 147 (6–7): 448–455. doi:10.1016/0923-2508(96)83998-2. ISSN   0923-2508. PMID   9084754.
  40. ↑ Knowles, Jeremy R. (July 1980). "Enzyme-Catalyzed Phosphoryl Transfer Reactions". Annual Review of Biochemistry . 49: 877–919. doi:10.1146/annurev.bi.49.070180.004305. ISSN   0066-4154. PMID   6250450.
  41. 1 2 Buick, Roger (August 27, 2008). "When did oxygenic photosynthesis evolve?". Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B . 363 (1504): 2731–2743. doi:10.1098/rstb.2008.0041. ISSN   0962-8436. PMC   2606769 . PMID   18468984.
  42. 1 2 Beraldi-Campesi, Hugo (February 23, 2013). "Early life on land and the first terrestrial ecosystems" (PDF). Ecological Processes. 2 (1): 4. Bibcode:2013EcoPr...2....1B. doi: 10.1186/2192-1709-2-1 . ISSN   2192-1709. S2CID   44199693.
  43. ↑ Huber, M. S.; Kovaleva, E.; Rae, A. S. P; Tisato, N.; Gulick, S. P. S (August 2023). "Can Archean Impact Structures Be Discovered? A Case Study From Earth's Largest, Most Deeply Eroded Impact Structure". Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets. 128 (8). Bibcode:2023JGRE..12807721H. doi: 10.1029/2022JE007721 . ISSN   2169-9097.
  44. ↑ Bernstein, Harris; Bernstein, Carol (May 1989). "Bacteriophage T4 genetic homologies with bacteria and eucaryotes". Journal of Bacteriology . 171 (5): 2265–2270. doi:10.1128/jb.171.5.2265-2270.1989. ISSN   0021-9193. PMC   209897 . PMID   2651395.
  45. ↑ Bjornerud 2005 , p. 151
  46. ↑ Knoll, Andrew H.; Javaux, Emmanuelle J.; Hewitt, David; et al. (June 29, 2006). "Eukaryotic organisms in Proterozoic oceans". Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B. 361 (1470): 1023–1038. doi:10.1098/rstb.2006.1843. ISSN   0962-8436. PMC   1578724 . PMID   16754612.
  47. ↑ Fedonkin, Mikhail A. (March 31, 2003). "The origin of the Metazoa in the light of the Proterozoic fossil record". Paleontological Research. 7 (1): 9–41. doi: 10.2517/prpsj.7.9 . ISSN   1342-8144. S2CID   55178329.
  48. ↑ Franz G., Lyckberg P., Khomenko V., Chournousenko V., Schulz H.-M., Mahlstedt N., Wirth R., Glodny J., Gernert U., Nissen J. (2022). "Fossilization of Precambrian microfossils in the Volyn pegmatite, Ukraine" (PDF). Biogeosciences. 19 (6): 1795–1811. Bibcode:2022BGeo...19.1795F. doi: 10.5194/bg-19-1795-2022 .{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  49. ↑ "First Land Plants and Fungi Changed Earth's Climate, Paving the Way for Explosive Evolution of Land Animals, New Gene Study Suggests". science.psu.edu. Archived from the original on 2018-04-08. Retrieved 10 April 2018. 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.
  50. ↑ Bernstein, Bernstein & Michod 2012 , pp. 1–50
  51. ↑ Bernstein, Harris; Byerly, Henry C.; Hopf, Frederic A.; Michod, Richard E. (October 7, 1984). "Origin of sex". Journal of Theoretical Biology . 110 (3): 323–351. Bibcode:1984JThBi.110..323B. doi:10.1016/S0022-5193(84)80178-2. ISSN   0022-5193. PMID   6209512.
  52. ↑ Butterfield, Nicholas J. (Summer 2000). "Bangiomorpha pubescens n. gen., n. sp.: implications for the evolution of sex, multicellularity, and the Mesoproterozoic/Neoproterozoic radiation of eukaryotes". Paleobiology . 26 (3): 386–404. doi:10.1666/0094-8373(2000)026<0386:BPNGNS>2.0.CO;2. ISSN   0094-8373. S2CID   36648568.
  53. ↑ Strother, Paul K.; Battison, Leila; Brasier, Martin D.; Wellman, Charles H. (26 May 2011). "Earth's earliest non-marine eukaryotes". Nature. 473 (7348): 505–509. Bibcode:2011Natur.473..505S. doi:10.1038/nature09943. PMID   21490597. S2CID   4418860.
  54. ↑ Zimmer, Carl (27 November 2019). "Is This the First Fossil of an Embryo? - Mysterious 609-million-year-old balls of cells may be the oldest animal embryos — or something else entirely". The New York Times . Archived from the original on 2022-01-01. Retrieved 28 November 2019.
  55. ↑ Cunningham, John A.; et al. (5 December 2016). "The origin of animals: Can molecular clocks and the fossil record be reconciled?". BioEssays . 39 (1): e201600120. doi: 10.1002/bies.201600120 . PMID   27918074.
  56. ↑ Hoffman, Paul F.; Kaufman, Alan J.; Halverson, Galen P.; Schrag, Daniel P. (August 28, 1998). "A Neoproterozoic Snowball Earth" (PDF). Science . 281 (5381): 1342–1346. Bibcode:1998Sci...281.1342H. doi:10.1126/science.281.5381.1342. ISSN   0036-8075. PMID   9721097. S2CID   13046760 . Retrieved 2007-05-04.
  57. ↑ Kirschvink 1992 , pp. 51–52
  58. ↑ "First Land Plants and Fungi Changed Earth's Climate, Paving the Way for Explosive Evolution of Land Animals, New Gene Study Suggests". www.sciencedaily.com. Retrieved 25 May 2022.
  59. ↑ Žárský, J.; Žárský, V.; Hanáček, M.; Žárský, V. (2022-01-27). "Cryogenian Glacial Habitats as a Plant Terrestrialisation Cradle – The Origin of the Anydrophytes and Zygnematophyceae Split". Frontiers in Plant Science . 12. Frontiers: 735020. doi: 10.3389/fpls.2021.735020 . ISSN   1664-462X. PMC   8829067 . PMID   35154170.
  60. ↑ Boyle, Richard A.; Lenton, Timothy M.; Williams, Hywel T. P. (December 2007). "Neoproterozoic 'snowball Earth' glaciations and the evolution of altruism" (PDF). Geobiology . 5 (4): 337–349. Bibcode:2007Gbio....5..337B. doi:10.1111/j.1472-4669.2007.00115.x. ISSN   1472-4677. S2CID   14827354. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2008-09-10. Retrieved 2015-03-09.
  61. ↑ Corsetti, Frank A.; Awramik, Stanley M.; Pierce, David (April 15, 2003). "A complex microbiota from snowball Earth times: Microfossils from the Neoproterozoic Kingston Peak Formation, Death Valley, USA". Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 100 (8): 4399–4404. Bibcode:2003PNAS..100.4399C. doi: 10.1073/pnas.0730560100 . ISSN   0027-8424. PMC   153566 . PMID   12682298.
  62. ↑ Corsetti, Frank A.; Olcott, Alison N.; Bakermans, Corien (March 22, 2006). "The biotic response to Neoproterozoic snowball Earth". Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology . 232 (2–4): 114–130. Bibcode:2006PPP...232..114C. doi:10.1016/j.palaeo.2005.10.030. ISSN   0031-0182.
  63. ↑ "Formation of the Ozone Layer". Goddard Earth Sciences Data and Information Services Center. NASA. September 9, 2009. Retrieved 2013-05-26.
  64. ↑ Narbonne, Guy (January 2008). "The Origin and Early Evolution of Animals". Kingston, Ontario, Canada: Queen's University. Archived from the original on 2015-07-24. Retrieved 2007-03-10.
  65. ↑ Waggoner, Ben M.; Collins, Allen G.; et al. (November 22, 1994). Rieboldt, Sarah; Smith, Dave (eds.). "The Cambrian Period". Tour of geologic time (Online exhibit). Berkeley, CA: University of California Museum of Paleontology . Retrieved 2015-03-09.
  66. ↑ Lane, Abby (January 20, 1999). "Timing". The Cambrian Explosion. Bristol, England: University of Bristol . Retrieved 2015-03-09.
  67. ↑ Chen, Jun-Yuan; Schopf, J. William; Bottjer, David J.; Zhang, Chen-Yu; Kudryavtsev, Anatoliy B.; Tripathi, Abhishek B.; Wang, Xiu-Qiang; Yang, Yong-Hua; Gao, Xiang; Yang, Ying (2007-04-10). "Raman spectra of a Lower Cambrian ctenophore embryo from southwestern Shaanxi, China". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 104 (15): 6289–6292. Bibcode:2007PNAS..104.6289C. doi: 10.1073/pnas.0701246104 . ISSN   0027-8424. PMC   1847456 . PMID   17404242.
  68. ↑ Müller, W. E. G.; Jinhe Li; Schröder, H. C.; Li Qiao; Xiaohong Wang (2007-05-03). "The unique skeleton of siliceous sponges (Porifera; Hexactinellida and Demospongiae) that evolved first from the Urmetazoa during the Proterozoic: a review". Biogeosciences. 4 (2): 219–232. Bibcode:2007BGeo....4..219M. doi: 10.5194/bg-4-219-2007 . ISSN   1726-4170. S2CID   15471191.
  69. ↑ "Corals and sea anemones (anthozoa)". Smithsonian's National Zoo. 2018-12-11. Retrieved 2022-09-24.
  70. ↑ Grazhdankin, Dima (February 8, 2016). "Patterns of distribution in the Ediacaran biotas: facies versus biogeography and evolution". Paleobiology. 30 (2): 203–221. doi:10.1666/0094-8373(2004)030<0203:PODITE>2.0.CO;2. ISSN   0094-8373. S2CID   129376371.
  71. ↑ Lindgren, A.R.; Giribet, G.; Nishiguchi, M.K. (2004). "A combined approach to the phylogeny of Cephalopoda (Mollusca)" (PDF). Cladistics. 20 (5): 454–486. CiteSeerX   10.1.1.693.2026 . doi:10.1111/j.1096-0031.2004.00032.x. PMID   34892953. S2CID   85975284. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-02-10.
  72. ↑ "Palaeos Paleozoic: Cambrian: The Cambrian Period - 2". Archived from the original on 2009-04-29. Retrieved 2009-04-20.
  73. ↑ "Pteridopsida: Fossil Record". University of California Museum of Paleontology. Retrieved 2014-03-11.
  74. ↑ Clarke, Tom (April 30, 2002). "Oldest fossil footprints on land". Nature. doi:10.1038/news020429-2. ISSN   1744-7933 . Retrieved 2015-03-09. 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.
  75. ↑ "Graptolites". British Geological Survey. Retrieved 2022-09-24.
  76. ↑ Leutwyler, Kristin. "511-Million-Year-Old Fossil Suggests Pre-Cambrian Origins for Crustaceans". Scientific American. Retrieved 2022-09-24.
  77. ↑ Garwood, Russell J.; Edgecombe, Gregory D. (September 2011). "Early Terrestrial Animals, Evolution, and Uncertainty". Evolution: Education and Outreach. 4 (3): 489–501. doi: 10.1007/s12052-011-0357-y . ISSN   1936-6426.
  78. ↑ Landing, Ed; Westrop, Stephen R. (September 1, 2006). "Lower Ordovician Faunas, Stratigraphy, and Sea-Level History of the Middle Beekmantown Group, Northeastern New York". Journal of Paleontology. 80 (5): 958–980. doi:10.1666/0022-3360(2006)80[958:LOFSAS]2.0.CO;2. ISSN   0022-3360. S2CID   130848432.
  79. ↑ Serb, Jeanne M.; Eernisse, Douglas J. (September 25, 2008). "Charting Evolution's Trajectory: Using Molluscan Eye Diversity to Understand Parallel and Convergent Evolution". Evolution: Education and Outreach. 1 (4): 439–447. doi: 10.1007/s12052-008-0084-1 . ISSN   1936-6434. S2CID   2881223.
  80. ↑ Niedźwiedzki, Grzegorz; Szrek, Piotr; Narkiewicz, Katarzyna; Narkiewicz, Marek; Ahlberg, Per E. (January 1, 2010). "Tetrapod trackways from the early Middle Devonian period of Poland" (PDF). Nature. 463 (7277): 43–48. Bibcode:2010Natur.463...43N. doi:10.1038/nature08623. ISSN   1476-4687. PMID   20054388. S2CID   4428903. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 25, 2022. Retrieved September 25, 2022.
  81. ↑ "Details of Evolutionary Transition from Fish to Land Animals Revealed". www.nsf.gov. Retrieved 2022-09-25.
  82. ↑ Clack, Jennifer A. (November 21, 2005). "Getting a Leg Up on Land". Scientific American. 293 (6): 100–107. Bibcode:2005SciAm.293f.100C. doi:10.1038/scientificamerican1205-100. PMID   16323697. Archived from the original on 2007-02-25.
  83. ↑ Martin, R. Aidan. "Evolution of a Super Predator". Biology of Sharks and Rays. North Vancouver, BC, Canada: ReefQuest Centre for Shark Research. Retrieved 2015-03-10. The ancestry of sharks dates back more than 200 million years before the earliest known dinosaur.
  84. ↑ "Devonian Fossil Forest Unearthed in China | Paleontology | Sci-News.com". Breaking Science News | Sci-News.com. Retrieved 2019-09-28.
  85. ↑ "Amphibia". paleobiodb.org. Retrieved 2022-10-07.
  86. ↑ Benton, M.J.; Donoghue, P.C.J. (2006). "Palaeontological evidence to date the tree of life". Molecular Biology and Evolution. 24 (1): 26–53. doi: 10.1093/molbev/msl150 . PMID   17047029.
  87. ↑ "Origin and Early Evolution of Amniotes | Frontiers Research Topic". www.frontiersin.org. Retrieved 2022-10-07.
  88. ↑ "Amniota". Palaeos . Retrieved 2015-03-09.
  89. ↑ Kemp, T. S. (February 16, 2006). "The origin and early radiation of the therapsid mammal-like reptiles: a palaeobiological hypothesis". Journal of Evolutionary Biology. 19 (4): 1231–1247. doi: 10.1111/j.1420-9101.2005.01076.x . ISSN   1010-061X. PMID   16780524. S2CID   3184629.
  90. ↑ Sahney, Sarda; Benton, Michael J. (April 7, 2008). "Recovery from the most profound mass extinction of all time". Proceedings of the Royal Society B . 275 (1636): 759–765. doi:10.1098/rspb.2007.1370. ISSN   0962-8452. PMC   2596898 . PMID   18198148.
  91. ↑ Rybicki, Ed (April 2008). "Origins of Viruses". Introduction of Molecular Virology (Lecture). Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa: University of Cape Town. Archived from the original on 2009-05-09. Retrieved 2015-03-10. 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.
  92. ↑ US Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. "What are the vampire squid and the vampire fish?". oceanservice.noaa.gov. Retrieved 2019-09-27.
  93. ↑ Dell'Amore, Christine (April 24, 2014). "Meet Kryptodrakon: Oldest Known Pterodactyl Found in China". National Geographic News. Washington, D.C.: National Geographic Society. Archived from the original on April 25, 2014. Retrieved 2014-04-25.
  94. ↑ Greshko, Michael (2020-02-11). "Oldest evidence of modern bees found in Argentina". National Geographic. Archived from the original on February 23, 2021. Retrieved 2022-06-22. 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.
  95. ↑ Moreau, Corrie S.; Bell, Charles D.; Vila, Roger; Archibald, S. Bruce; Pierce, Naomi E. (2006-04-07). "Phylogeny of the Ants: Diversification in the Age of Angiosperms". Science. 312 (5770): 101–104. Bibcode:2006Sci...312..101M. doi:10.1126/science.1124891. ISSN   0036-8075. PMID   16601190. S2CID   20729380.
  96. ↑ Sereno, P. C.; Myhrvold, N.; Henderson, D. M.; Fish, F. E.; Vidal, D.; Baumgart, S. L.; Keillor, T. M.; Formoso, K. K.; Conroy, L. L. (2022-10-05). "Spinosaurus is not an aquatic dinosaur". eLife. 11: e80092. doi: 10.7554/eLife.80092 . PMC   9711522 . PMID   36448670.
  97. ↑ "Mindat.org". www.mindat.org. Retrieved 2022-10-03.
  98. ↑ Grossnickle, David M.; Newham, Elis (2016-06-15). "Therian mammals experience an ecomorphological radiation during the Late Cretaceous and selective extinction at the K–Pg boundary". Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. 283 (1832): 20160256. doi:10.1098/rspb.2016.0256. PMC   4920311 .
  99. ↑ "Mammals began their takeover long before the death of the dinosaurs". ScienceDaily. Retrieved 2022-09-25.
  100. ↑ Finds, Study (2021-12-02). "T-rex fossil reveals dinosaur from 68 million years ago likely had a terrible toothache!". Study Finds. Retrieved 2022-09-24.
  101. ↑ Chiappe, Luis M.; Dyke, Gareth J. (November 2002). "The Mesozoic Radiation of Birds". Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics . 33: 91–124. doi:10.1146/annurev.ecolsys.33.010802.150517. ISSN   1545-2069.
  102. ↑ "About > The Origins of Oaks". www.oaksofchevithornebarton.com. Retrieved 2019-09-28.
  103. ↑ Karmin M, Saag L, Vicente M, et al. (April 2015). "A recent bottleneck of Y chromosome diversity coincides with a global change in culture". Genome Research . 25 (4): 459–466. doi:10.1101/gr.186684.114. ISSN   1088-9051. PMC   4381518 . PMID   25770088.
  104. ↑ Brown, Frank; Fleagle, John; McDougall, Ian (February 16, 2005). "The Oldest Homo sapiens" (Press release). Salt Lake City, UT: University of Utah. Archived from the original on 2015-08-02. Retrieved 2015-03-10.
  105. ↑ Alemseged, Zeresenay; Coppens, Yves; Geraads, Denis (February 2002). "Hominid cranium from Homo: Description and taxonomy of Homo-323-1976-896" (PDF). American Journal of Physical Anthropology . 117 (2): 103–112. doi:10.1002/ajpa.10032. ISSN   0002-9483. PMID   11815945.
  106. ↑ "International Stratigraphic Chart (v 2014/10)" (PDF). Beijing, China: International Commission on Stratigraphy . Retrieved 2015-03-11.

Bibliography

Further reading

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.