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Cenozoic History Timeline

Instructions:

Answer 50 questions in 15 minutes.
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Match each statement with the correct term.
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This is a study tool. The 3 wrong answers for each question are randomly chosen from answers to other questions. So, you might find at times the answers obvious, but you will see it re-enforces your understanding as you take the test each time.

1. Cats evolve.
0.2 Ma
5 Ma
3 Ma
34 Ma

2. Earliest demonstrable evidence of the controlled use of fire by Homo erectus
6.5 Ma
34 Ma
0.79 Ma
56 Ma

3. colonisation of Eurasia by Homo erectus
0.5 Ma
60 Ma
4.5 Ma
49 Ma

4. Gastornis evolves.
37 Ma
0.35 Ma
56 Ma
49 Ma

5. Homo antecessor evolves. Paranthropus dies out.
0.64 Ma
63 Ma
1.2 Ma
15 Ma

6. Gastornis evolves.
28 Ma
56 Ma
20 Ma
1.5 Ma

7. First Nimravids.
2.6 Ma
37 Ma
33 Ma
2.6 Ma

8. Whales return to the water.
1.2 Ma
24 Ma
0.79 Ma
49 Ma

9. Estimated age of the Homo/Pan (human vs. chimpanzee) split.
0.79 Ma
5.4-6.3 Ma
0.2 Ma
0.7 Ma

10. Insects diversify.First large horses.
10 Ma
15 Ma
2.7 Ma
5.4-6.3 Ma

11. Neogene period and Miocene epoch begin
25 Ma
5 Ma
24 Ma
2.7 Ma

12. Giraffes and giant anteaters evolve.
0.64 Ma
20 Ma
2.5 Ma
25 Ma

13. Grasslands first appear. Glyptodonts - ground sloths - peccaries - dogs - eagles - and hawks evolve.
56 Ma
35 Ma
63 Ma
1.2 Ma

14. colonisation of Eurasia by Homo erectus
15 Ma
0.5 Ma
5.5 Ma
0.64 Ma

15. Middle Paleolithic begins. Appearance of Homo sapiens in Africa
28 Ma
0.2 Ma
2.6 Ma
1.2 Ma

16. Appearance of the genus Ardipithecus
20 Ma
20 Ma
0.3 Ma
5.5 Ma

17. start of the Pleistocene epoch - the Stone Age and the current Quaternary period; emergence of the genus Homo. Smilodon - the best known of the sabre-toothed cats - appears.
37 Ma
6 Ma
34 Ma
2.5 Ma

18. Neanderthals evolve.
0.7 Ma
0.35 Ma
4.8 Ma
60 Ma

19. Paraceratherium evolves.
5.4-6.3 Ma
0.2 Ma
60 Ma
28 Ma

20. Isthmus of Panama joins North and South America. Great AmericanInterchange.
3 Ma
5.5 Ma
28 Ma
37 Ma

21. The island of theIndian subcontinent collides with Asia - thrusting up the Himalayas and the Tibetan Plateau. Many modern bird groups appear.First whale ancestors.First rodents - lagomorphs - armadillos - sirenians - proboscideans - perissodactyls -
55 Ma
0.2 Ma
5 Ma
30 Ma

22. Africa collides with Eurasia - closing the Tethys Sea. Divergence of cat and dog ancestors. Primates diversify. Brontotheres - tapirs - rhinos - and camels evolve.
24 Ma
50 Ma
4.8 Ma
0.35 Ma

23. First deer.
6.5 Ma
25 Ma
37 Ma
2.5 Ma

24. Whales return to the water.
49 Ma
52 Ma
36 Ma
20 Ma

25. First creodonts.
60 Ma
0.79 Ma
4.5 Ma
63 Ma

26. Yellowstone caldera erupts
0.64 Ma
63 Ma
24 Ma
1.5 Ma

27. Middle Paleolithic begins. Appearance of Homo sapiens in Africa
0.79 Ma
1.7 Ma
60 Ma
0.2 Ma

28. First members of the Hominini tribe.
2.5 Ma
49 Ma
6.5 Ma
63 Ma

29. The island of theIndian subcontinent collides with Asia - thrusting up the Himalayas and the Tibetan Plateau. Many modern bird groups appear.First whale ancestors.First rodents - lagomorphs - armadillos - sirenians - proboscideans - perissodactyls -
55 Ma
28 Ma
1.2 Ma
60 Ma

30. Australopithecines diversify.
36 Ma
35 Ma
6 Ma
15 Ma

31. Neogene period and Miocene epoch begin
5 Ma
2.6 Ma
26 Ma
24 Ma

32. The mammoth appears.
26 Ma
4.8 Ma
49 Ma
1.7 Ma

33. First bats.
0.6 Ma
40 Ma
52 Ma
5 Ma

34. Appearance of the genus Australopithecus
4.5 Ma
1.7 Ma
33 Ma
52 Ma

35. Emergence of the first true elephants.
63 Ma
6 Ma
26 Ma
33 Ma

36. Homo heidelbergensis evolves.
2.5 Ma
63 Ma
10 Ma
0.6 Ma

37. Insects diversify.First large horses.
20 Ma
5.5 Ma
5.5 Ma
10 Ma

38. Grasslands first appear. Glyptodonts - ground sloths - peccaries - dogs - eagles - and hawks evolve.
35 Ma
6.5 Ma
50 Ma
33 Ma

39. Pliocene epoch begins.First tree sloths and hippopotami.First large vultures. Nimravids go extinct.
28 Ma
5 Ma
56 Ma
0.79 Ma

40. Paranthropus evolve.
18-12 Ma
35 Ma
34 Ma
2.7 Ma

41. Australopithecines diversify.
5.5 Ma
3 Ma
6 Ma
6.5 Ma

42. End of Eocene - start of Oligocene epoch.
1.7 Ma
10 Ma
0.35 Ma
36 Ma

43. Age of the Catarrhini parvorder; first canines evolve. Lepidopteran insects become recognizable. Gastornis goes extinct. Basilosaurus evolves.
40 Ma
56 Ma
25 Ma
1.5 Ma

44. start of the Pleistocene epoch - the Stone Age and the current Quaternary period; emergence of the genus Homo. Smilodon - the best known of the sabre-toothed cats - appears.
2.5 Ma
26 Ma
40 Ma
55 Ma

45. Approximate age of Canis lupus. Middle Stone Age begins in Africa. Gigantopithecus evolves.
0.3 Ma
35 Ma
15 Ma
40 Ma

46. current ice age begins
1.5 Ma
2.6 Ma
15 Ma
1.7 Ma

47. First mastodons - bovids - and kangaroos. Australian megafauna diversify.
55 Ma
28 Ma
36 Ma
15 Ma

48. Estimated age of the Hominidae/Hylobatidae (great apes vs. gibbons) split.
60 Ma
18-12 Ma
4.8 Ma
34 Ma

49. Estimated age of the Homo/Pan (human vs. chimpanzee) split.
5.4-6.3 Ma
33 Ma
36 Ma
4.8 Ma

50. Evolution of the first primates and miacids. Flightless birds diversify.
26 Ma
0.7 Ma
60 Ma
56 Ma