GEOLOGIC TIME

Geologic time scale spans 4.5 billion years.

The last ~500 million years are detailed due to the
study of fossils.
Fossils are the remains or traces of prehistoric life.
Fossils have been used to divide geologic time into
eons, eras, periods, and epochs.

GEOLOGIC TIME SCALE

A HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE

Reference:
Tarbuck & Lutgens
Pages 10 & 237

GEOLOGIC TIME SCALE

A HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE
Scientist and their contributions to the Geologic Time Scale:

Nicolaus Steno

Principle of Original Horizontality.

Principle of Superposition.

James Hutton and Charles Lyell

Principle of Uniformitarianism

William Smith

Principle of Faunal (Fossil) Succession

MESOZOIC

PROTEROZOIC

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GEOLOGIC TIME SCALE

What do the divisions of the geologic time scale signify?
Eons

Eras

Divisions of Geologic Time

Eon, Era, Period, Epoch
Largest
span of
time

Smallest
span of
time

GEOLOGIC TIME

The Precambrian Era

(Not an Eon but you dont need to know the
Eons) collectively called the precambrian
85% of Earths history!
uncertainty exists in the time due to its old age
and the lack of lifeforms during the time.
Not suitable for life (extreme weather
and abiotic conditions)

**All time before 545 Ma.

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EONS- largest time frames

Dont need to know the Eons in

Precambrian (just collectively called
Precambrian)

Phanerozoic (visible life) The most

recent eon, which began about 540 million
years ago.

Fossils here help us determine the ages

About 13% of Earth history.

It represents the emergence of more

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GEOLOGIC TIME SCALE

A HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE

Reference:
Tarbuck & Lutgens
Pages 10 & 237

NAMES OF THE ERAS

EraSubdivision of an eon.
Eras of the Phanerozoic eon include:
Cenozoic (recent life)
Mesozoic (middle life)
Paleozoic (ancient life)

Eras are subdivided into periods.

Periods are subdivided into epochs.

You do NOT need to know the periods or

epochs.
Do NOT confuse the Paleozoic Era with
the Phanerozoic Eon.

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FOSSILS INDICATED EVOLUTIONARY PATHWAYS:

Each Era can be divided based on the fossil
evidence found in rocks during those times
Precambrian Era single celled organisms
Little direct evidence of fossils due to lack
of species with hard body parts (and thus lack
of lifeforms).

Fossil evidence include algae, bacteria, and

traces of soft-bodied organisms.

FOSSILS INDICATED EVOLUTIONARY PATHWAYS:

Each Era can be divided based on the fossil
evidence found in rocks during those times
Phanerozoic Eon
Fossil evidence is divided in its 3 Eras
1. Paleozoic (ancient)
2. Mesozoic
3. Cenozoic (recent)

FOSSILS INDICATE EVOLUTIONARY

PATHWAYS:

THE PALEOZOIC ERA REPRESENTS

MORE THAN ONE DOMINANT FORM OF
LIFE!
An explosion of life took place at the end of
the Precambrian Era (Start of the
Phanerozoic Eon, Paleozoic Era, Cambrian
Period).

Early Paleozoic

Middle Paleozoic

Late Paleozoic (more recent)

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FOSSILS INDICATE EVOLUTIONARY

PATHWAYS:
Early Paleozoic Era -- Age of the Invertebrate
Paleozoic
Divided
Invertebrates
evolved intoEra
vertebrates.

Middle Paleozoic Era Age of Fishes

Abundance of fishes and First land plants

Late Paleozoic -- age of amphibians.

Lung fish evolved into amphibians

Mass extinctions of invertebrates including trilobites and

numerous other marine species occurred at the end of the
Paleozoic Era.

FOSSILS INDICATE EVOLUTIONARY

PATHWAYS:
Mesozoic Era -- Age of the Reptiles

Reptiles - Dinosaurs became dominant.

First birds are seen during this time.

First Flowering Plants

The end of the Mesozoic Era was marked by mass
extinctions of reptiles including dinosaurs and numerous
other species. Meteorite!
Cenozoic Era -- Age of the Mammals

Mammals evolve and dominate during this time.

Flowering plants are the dominant land plant.

Some mammals became extinct during the late Cenozoic

(11,000 years ago ICE AGE). These include the mastodon,
mammoth, saber-tooth cat, large ground sloth, and giant
bison. (and others)

FOSSILS INDICATE EVOLUTIONARY

PATHWAYS:

**You MUST know the

order as well as what
time each one was a
major player in

Single-celled Organisms - Invertebrates Fish First Land Plants

Amphibians Reptiles Birds Flowering Plants - Mammals

Summers I Fish First And Ride Bikes For Months

OR - Since I Found Flying Angels Riding Brooms Forget Medicine.

Mnemonic device

Summers I Fish First And Ride Bikes For Months

S = Single-celled organisms (Precambrian)
I = Invertebrates (Early Paleozoic -1/4)
F = Fishes (Middle Paleozoic -2/4)
F = First Land Plants (Early To Middle Paleozoic -3/4)
A = Amphibians (Late Paleozoic 4/4)
R = Reptiles (Mesozoic 1/3)
B = Birds (Mesozoic 2/3)
F = Flowering Plants (Mesozoic -3/3)
M = Mammals (Cenozoic)

MASS EXTINCTIONS

Mass extinctions are episodes in geologic history where mass

amounts of organisms (species) are killed off.

Two major periods of extinction are recognized in Earths

history, which include:
1) Permian Period Triassic Period Boundary (End of Paleozoic
Era and Beginning of Mesozoic Era)
2) Cretaceous Period Tertiary Period Boundary (End of Mesozoic
Era and Beginning of Cenozoic Era)

Reference:
Tarbuck and
Lutgens Pages 298 & 304

Some species flourished as other

species went extinct!

MASS EXTINCTIONS

The most widely accepted hypothesis for the

extinction at the end of the Paleozoic Era is the plate
tectonic assembly of Pangaea and the loss of habitat.
This was 245 Ma and 96 % of marine species
disappeared. Trilobites are one example!
The most widely accepted hypothesis for the

extinction
at the end of the Mesozoic Era is the impact
of a great meteorite and the corresponding disruption
of climate. This was 65 Ma and over 50 % of all species
went extinct. This ended dinosaurs (or large reptiles).

Other possible explanations include:

1) falls in sea levels;
2) climatic changes;
3) prolonged volcanic eruptions; and
4) periods of lack of oxygen in oceans.