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

2. Estimated age of the Homo/Pan (human vs. chimpanzee) split.
0.79 Ma
10 Ma
5.4-6.3 Ma
35 Ma

3. Homo heidelbergensis evolves.
0.64 Ma
34 Ma
0.7 Ma
0.6 Ma

4. Grasslands first appear. Glyptodonts - ground sloths - peccaries - dogs - eagles - and hawks evolve.
34 Ma
35 Ma
1.2 Ma
2.6 Ma

5. Cats evolve.
6.5 Ma
1.7 Ma
34 Ma
5.4-6.3 Ma

6. First mastodons - bovids - and kangaroos. Australian megafauna diversify.
15 Ma
20 Ma
0.5 Ma
3 Ma

7. 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.
20 Ma
6 Ma
2.5 Ma
25 Ma

8. Brontotheres go extinct. Pigs evolve. South America separates from Antarctica - becoming an island continent.
5.5 Ma
49 Ma
33 Ma
30 Ma

9. Pliocene epoch begins.First tree sloths and hippopotami.First large vultures. Nimravids go extinct.
4.8 Ma
36 Ma
5 Ma
5.4-6.3 Ma

10. last reversal of the earth's magnetic field
56 Ma
49 Ma
50 Ma
0.7 Ma

11. 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 -
33 Ma
0.5 Ma
55 Ma
60 Ma

12. Paranthropus evolve.
2.7 Ma
56 Ma
0.5 Ma
30 Ma

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

14. Gastornis evolves.
56 Ma
0.5 Ma
1.2 Ma
1.7 Ma

15. Earliest possible evidence of the controlled use of fire by Homo erectus
0.5 Ma
1.5 Ma
1.2 Ma
35 Ma

16. colonisation of Eurasia by Homo erectus
4.5 Ma
1.7 Ma
0.35 Ma
0.5 Ma

17. Cats evolve.
25 Ma
33 Ma
40 Ma
34 Ma

18. Homo heidelbergensis evolves.
36 Ma
37 Ma
0.6 Ma
25 Ma

19. First creodonts.
26 Ma
63 Ma
25 Ma
5.4-6.3 Ma

20. Australopithecines diversify.
0.3 Ma
37 Ma
6 Ma
49 Ma

21. colonisation of Eurasia by Homo erectus
26 Ma
0.7 Ma
1.2 Ma
0.5 Ma

22. Earliest demonstrable evidence of the controlled use of fire by Homo erectus
0.79 Ma
63 Ma
5.4-6.3 Ma
1.7 Ma

23. Australopithecines go extinct.
0.2 Ma
1.7 Ma
6.5 Ma
60 Ma

24. Approximate age of Canis lupus. Middle Stone Age begins in Africa. Gigantopithecus evolves.
0.2 Ma
0.3 Ma
40 Ma
30 Ma

25. Estimated age of the Hominidae/Hylobatidae (great apes vs. gibbons) split.
4.8 Ma
0.35 Ma
50 Ma
18-12 Ma

26. Yellowstone caldera erupts
36 Ma
0.64 Ma
2.7 Ma
0.35 Ma

27. Appearance of the genus Ardipithecus
33 Ma
3 Ma
5.5 Ma
10 Ma

28. First bats.
33 Ma
52 Ma
55 Ma
33 Ma

29. Yellowstone caldera erupts
6 Ma
0.64 Ma
15 Ma
0.5 Ma

30. End of Eocene - start of Oligocene epoch.
40 Ma
2.6 Ma
15 Ma
36 Ma

31. First creodonts.
55 Ma
50 Ma
2.6 Ma
63 Ma

32. Middle Paleolithic begins. Appearance of Homo sapiens in Africa
0.6 Ma
28 Ma
5 Ma
0.2 Ma

33. Appearance of the genus Australopithecus
0.64 Ma
0.7 Ma
4.5 Ma
1.2 Ma

34. Paranthropus evolve.
4.8 Ma
5 Ma
37 Ma
2.7 Ma

35. First deer.
10 Ma
0.2 Ma
25 Ma
0.6 Ma

36. Paraceratherium evolves.
18-12 Ma
26 Ma
28 Ma
2.6 Ma

37. First members of the Hominini tribe.
24 Ma
4.5 Ma
6.5 Ma
15 Ma

38. Earliest demonstrable evidence of the controlled use of fire by Homo erectus
0.79 Ma
18-12 Ma
49 Ma
3 Ma

39. Australopithecines go extinct.
0.79 Ma
34 Ma
6 Ma
1.7 Ma

40. Middle Paleolithic begins. Appearance of Homo sapiens in Africa
1.7 Ma
0.2 Ma
5 Ma
20 Ma

41. Age of the Catarrhini parvorder; first canines evolve. Lepidopteran insects become recognizable. Gastornis goes extinct. Basilosaurus evolves.
1.5 Ma
0.79 Ma
2.7 Ma
40 Ma

42. Insects diversify.First large horses.
3 Ma
1.7 Ma
10 Ma
0.64 Ma

43. Evolution of the first primates and miacids. Flightless birds diversify.
60 Ma
6.5 Ma
0.3 Ma
52 Ma

44. The mammoth appears.
36 Ma
28 Ma
4.8 Ma
26 Ma

45. 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 -
36 Ma
60 Ma
55 Ma
0.7 Ma

46. First mastodons - bovids - and kangaroos. Australian megafauna diversify.
15 Ma
52 Ma
26 Ma
2.6 Ma

47. Age of the Catarrhini parvorder; first canines evolve. Lepidopteran insects become recognizable. Gastornis goes extinct. Basilosaurus evolves.
3 Ma
2.5 Ma
10 Ma
40 Ma

48. Pliocene epoch begins.First tree sloths and hippopotami.First large vultures. Nimravids go extinct.
0.6 Ma
63 Ma
0.35 Ma
5 Ma

49. Estimated age of the Hominidae/Hylobatidae (great apes vs. gibbons) split.
24 Ma
37 Ma
18-12 Ma
20 Ma

50. End of Eocene - start of Oligocene epoch.
36 Ma
3 Ma
55 Ma
63 Ma