The Geological Timescale
| Era | Period | Epoch | years ago* | Lifeforms |
| Cenozoic | Quaternary | Holocene | 0.01 - 0 |
Muskox (Ovibos muschatus): Pleistocene - recent |
| Pleistocene | 2.5 - 0.01 | |||
| Tertiary | Pliocene | 5 - 2.5 | ||
| Miocene | 23 -5 | |||
| Oligocene | 34 -23 | |||
| Eocene | 53 - 34 | |||
| Paleocene | 65 - 53 | |||
| Mesozoic | Cretaceous | Upper Cretaceous | 106 - 65 |
Archaeopteryx (prehistoric bird): Malm |
| Lower Cretaceous | 143 - 106 | |||
| Jurassic | Malm | 162 - 143 | ||
| Dogger | 180 - 162 | |||
| Lias | 211 - 180 | |||
| Triassic | Keuper | 234 - 211 | ||
| Muschelkalk | 242 -234 | |||
| Scythian | 247 - 242 | |||
| Paleozoic | Permian | Upper Permian | 258 - 247 |
Dimetrodon: a sailback lizard from the Permian |
| Lower Permian | 288 - 258 | |||
| Carboniferous | Stephanian | 295 - 288 |
Calamites (giant horsetail): Carboniferous |
|
| Westphalian | 315 - 295 | |||
| Namurian | 341 - 315 | |||
| Viséian | 356 - 341 | |||
| Tournaisian | 368 - 356 | |||
| Devonian | 420 - 368 | |||
| Silurian | 446 - 420 |
Halysites (a coral): Silurian |
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| Ordovician | 510 - 446 |
Lituites: an octopus-like animal with external shell |
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| Cambrian | 574 - 510 |
Olenellus: a Cambrian trilobite |
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4600 - 574 |
Primitive single-celled organisms |
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* = in millions of years
Last updated: 19-3-2002