Test your basic knowledge |

Cenozoic History Timeline

Instructions:

Answer 50 questions in 15 minutes.
If you are not ready to take this test, you can study here.
Match each statement with the correct term.
Don't refresh. All questions and answers are randomly picked and ordered every time you load a test.

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. Australopithecines go extinct.
1.7 Ma
0.2 Ma
35 Ma
4.8 Ma

2. Gastornis evolves.
56 Ma
0.3 Ma
49 Ma
4.8 Ma

3. Africa collides with Eurasia - closing the Tethys Sea. Divergence of cat and dog ancestors. Primates diversify. Brontotheres - tapirs - rhinos - and camels evolve.
50 Ma
5.4-6.3 Ma
10 Ma
0.2 Ma

4. Brontotheres go extinct. Pigs evolve. South America separates from Antarctica - becoming an island continent.
5 Ma
30 Ma
52 Ma
1.5 Ma

5. Appearance of the genus Australopithecus
5 Ma
4.5 Ma
3 Ma
50 Ma

6. Pliocene epoch begins.First tree sloths and hippopotami.First large vultures. Nimravids go extinct.
24 Ma
40 Ma
0.6 Ma
5 Ma

7. First bats.
1.5 Ma
35 Ma
52 Ma
0.6 Ma

8. 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
30 Ma
0.3 Ma
20 Ma

9. Approximate age of Canis lupus. Middle Stone Age begins in Africa. Gigantopithecus evolves.
0.6 Ma
0.79 Ma
0.3 Ma
37 Ma

10. Grasslands first appear. Glyptodonts - ground sloths - peccaries - dogs - eagles - and hawks evolve.
35 Ma
34 Ma
5.5 Ma
63 Ma

11. Middle Paleolithic begins. Appearance of Homo sapiens in Africa
55 Ma
49 Ma
10 Ma
0.2 Ma

12. Neanderthals evolve.
0.35 Ma
60 Ma
6 Ma
28 Ma

13. First deer.
28 Ma
26 Ma
25 Ma
15 Ma

14. last reversal of the earth's magnetic field
0.5 Ma
20 Ma
0.7 Ma
5 Ma

15. colonisation of Eurasia by Homo erectus
0.2 Ma
0.5 Ma
52 Ma
5.5 Ma

16. Earliest demonstrable evidence of the controlled use of fire by Homo erectus
37 Ma
0.6 Ma
10 Ma
0.79 Ma

17. Isthmus of Panama joins North and South America. Great AmericanInterchange.
3 Ma
2.7 Ma
4.8 Ma
15 Ma

18. Homo antecessor evolves. Paranthropus dies out.
33 Ma
6 Ma
2.5 Ma
1.2 Ma

19. First thylacinid marsupials evolve.
6 Ma
10 Ma
52 Ma
33 Ma

20. Approximate age of Canis lupus. Middle Stone Age begins in Africa. Gigantopithecus evolves.
0.6 Ma
2.5 Ma
3 Ma
0.3 Ma

21. Cats evolve.
30 Ma
0.7 Ma
34 Ma
0.6 Ma

22. First members of the Hominini tribe.
56 Ma
3 Ma
6.5 Ma
0.3 Ma

23. First deer.
6.5 Ma
1.5 Ma
0.35 Ma
25 Ma

24. last reversal of the earth's magnetic field
55 Ma
34 Ma
6.5 Ma
0.7 Ma

25. First creodonts.
10 Ma
2.7 Ma
63 Ma
6.5 Ma

26. First mastodons - bovids - and kangaroos. Australian megafauna diversify.
0.7 Ma
40 Ma
2.6 Ma
15 Ma

27. Earliest possible evidence of the controlled use of fire by Homo erectus
0.64 Ma
2.5 Ma
50 Ma
1.5 Ma

28. The mammoth appears.
60 Ma
1.7 Ma
4.8 Ma
2.5 Ma

29. First bats.
52 Ma
24 Ma
56 Ma
36 Ma

30. First Nimravids.
0.6 Ma
24 Ma
0.35 Ma
37 Ma

31. First creodonts.
63 Ma
33 Ma
0.2 Ma
25 Ma

32. Appearance of the genus Ardipithecus
40 Ma
15 Ma
5.5 Ma
52 Ma

33. Estimated age of the Homo/Pan (human vs. chimpanzee) split.
5.4-6.3 Ma
6 Ma
4.5 Ma
28 Ma

34. 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 -
28 Ma
55 Ma
25 Ma
40 Ma

35. First members of the Hominini tribe.
2.5 Ma
6.5 Ma
1.5 Ma
0.6 Ma

36. 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 -
2.7 Ma
4.8 Ma
5.4-6.3 Ma
55 Ma

37. Insects diversify.First large horses.
0.2 Ma
52 Ma
56 Ma
10 Ma

38. Age of the Catarrhini parvorder; first canines evolve. Lepidopteran insects become recognizable. Gastornis goes extinct. Basilosaurus evolves.
2.6 Ma
30 Ma
40 Ma
24 Ma

39. Yellowstone caldera erupts
25 Ma
18-12 Ma
52 Ma
0.64 Ma

40. current ice age begins
0.2 Ma
2.6 Ma
4.5 Ma
56 Ma

41. Grasslands first appear. Glyptodonts - ground sloths - peccaries - dogs - eagles - and hawks evolve.
28 Ma
56 Ma
3 Ma
35 Ma

42. Australopithecines go extinct.
1.5 Ma
10 Ma
5 Ma
1.7 Ma

43. Australopithecines diversify.
6 Ma
35 Ma
0.64 Ma
4.8 Ma

44. End of Eocene - start of Oligocene epoch.
5.5 Ma
1.7 Ma
36 Ma
3 Ma

45. Age of the Catarrhini parvorder; first canines evolve. Lepidopteran insects become recognizable. Gastornis goes extinct. Basilosaurus evolves.
60 Ma
55 Ma
40 Ma
2.6 Ma

46. Africa collides with Eurasia - closing the Tethys Sea. Divergence of cat and dog ancestors. Primates diversify. Brontotheres - tapirs - rhinos - and camels evolve.
50 Ma
2.6 Ma
36 Ma
20 Ma

47. Evolution of the first primates and miacids. Flightless birds diversify.
1.5 Ma
60 Ma
2.6 Ma
2.7 Ma

48. colonisation of Eurasia by Homo erectus
55 Ma
0.5 Ma
15 Ma
25 Ma

49. Middle Paleolithic begins. Appearance of Homo sapiens in Africa
63 Ma
35 Ma
0.2 Ma
1.7 Ma

50. Estimated age of the Homo/Pan (human vs. chimpanzee) split.
5.4-6.3 Ma
37 Ma
40 Ma
5.5 Ma