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. First creodonts.
1.2 Ma
63 Ma
37 Ma
2.5 Ma

2. Emergence of the first true elephants.
4.8 Ma
26 Ma
0.64 Ma
52 Ma

3. Yellowstone caldera erupts
0.64 Ma
36 Ma
0.35 Ma
15 Ma

4. Evolution of the first primates and miacids. Flightless birds diversify.
30 Ma
1.7 Ma
10 Ma
60 Ma

5. Estimated age of the Homo/Pan (human vs. chimpanzee) split.
63 Ma
5.4-6.3 Ma
34 Ma
49 Ma

6. Estimated age of the Homo/Pan (human vs. chimpanzee) split.
2.5 Ma
5.4-6.3 Ma
1.7 Ma
1.5 Ma

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

8. Pliocene epoch begins.First tree sloths and hippopotami.First large vultures. Nimravids go extinct.
5 Ma
2.6 Ma
30 Ma
0.79 Ma

9. Giraffes and giant anteaters evolve.
34 Ma
26 Ma
20 Ma
49 Ma

10. First mastodons - bovids - and kangaroos. Australian megafauna diversify.
50 Ma
2.5 Ma
30 Ma
15 Ma

11. Earliest possible evidence of the controlled use of fire by Homo erectus
1.5 Ma
18-12 Ma
28 Ma
0.7 Ma

12. Approximate age of Canis lupus. Middle Stone Age begins in Africa. Gigantopithecus evolves.
34 Ma
35 Ma
55 Ma
0.3 Ma

13. Gastornis evolves.
0.79 Ma
0.6 Ma
56 Ma
33 Ma

14. Grasslands first appear. Glyptodonts - ground sloths - peccaries - dogs - eagles - and hawks evolve.
35 Ma
0.2 Ma
36 Ma
5.5 Ma

15. Cats evolve.
56 Ma
0.7 Ma
34 Ma
15 Ma

16. Paranthropus evolve.
5.4-6.3 Ma
2.7 Ma
0.35 Ma
36 Ma

17. First bats.
52 Ma
37 Ma
28 Ma
15 Ma

18. Approximate age of Canis lupus. Middle Stone Age begins in Africa. Gigantopithecus evolves.
24 Ma
0.3 Ma
15 Ma
52 Ma

19. current ice age begins
2.6 Ma
1.7 Ma
0.7 Ma
60 Ma

20. Paraceratherium evolves.
0.79 Ma
0.7 Ma
28 Ma
25 Ma

21. Gastornis evolves.
56 Ma
24 Ma
0.64 Ma
18-12 Ma

22. Yellowstone caldera erupts
26 Ma
0.64 Ma
1.2 Ma
33 Ma

23. Appearance of the genus Ardipithecus
5.5 Ma
2.5 Ma
0.35 Ma
49 Ma

24. Grasslands first appear. Glyptodonts - ground sloths - peccaries - dogs - eagles - and hawks evolve.
30 Ma
63 Ma
0.6 Ma
35 Ma

25. Earliest demonstrable evidence of the controlled use of fire by Homo erectus
0.79 Ma
63 Ma
0.3 Ma
20 Ma

26. Isthmus of Panama joins North and South America. Great AmericanInterchange.
0.35 Ma
0.7 Ma
3 Ma
0.5 Ma

27. Appearance of the genus Australopithecus
30 Ma
6.5 Ma
6.5 Ma
4.5 Ma

28. 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.
63 Ma
56 Ma
2.5 Ma
0.64 Ma

29. Whales return to the water.
49 Ma
0.6 Ma
0.79 Ma
56 Ma

30. Middle Paleolithic begins. Appearance of Homo sapiens in Africa
0.2 Ma
0.35 Ma
3 Ma
49 Ma

31. Australopithecines go extinct.
1.7 Ma
50 Ma
33 Ma
2.7 Ma

32. Insects diversify.First large horses.
6.5 Ma
50 Ma
10 Ma
34 Ma

33. Australopithecines diversify.
6 Ma
28 Ma
0.64 Ma
2.7 Ma

34. Age of the Catarrhini parvorder; first canines evolve. Lepidopteran insects become recognizable. Gastornis goes extinct. Basilosaurus evolves.
25 Ma
40 Ma
15 Ma
2.6 Ma

35. First members of the Hominini tribe.
5.5 Ma
6.5 Ma
1.2 Ma
36 Ma

36. First deer.
60 Ma
35 Ma
25 Ma
5 Ma

37. colonisation of Eurasia by Homo erectus
5 Ma
2.5 Ma
0.5 Ma
1.5 Ma

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

39. Neanderthals evolve.
1.5 Ma
25 Ma
0.35 Ma
4.5 Ma

40. Neogene period and Miocene epoch begin
15 Ma
5.4-6.3 Ma
24 Ma
33 Ma

41. First bats.
5.4-6.3 Ma
40 Ma
52 Ma
4.5 Ma

42. Brontotheres go extinct. Pigs evolve. South America separates from Antarctica - becoming an island continent.
2.6 Ma
30 Ma
4.8 Ma
49 Ma

43. Giraffes and giant anteaters evolve.
2.6 Ma
2.6 Ma
20 Ma
18-12 Ma

44. Neanderthals evolve.
4.5 Ma
28 Ma
26 Ma
0.35 Ma

45. First thylacinid marsupials evolve.
35 Ma
34 Ma
33 Ma
1.2 Ma

46. 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
37 Ma
28 Ma
36 Ma

47. Cats evolve.
5.5 Ma
34 Ma
36 Ma
40 Ma

48. Homo antecessor evolves. Paranthropus dies out.
6.5 Ma
6.5 Ma
1.2 Ma
1.7 Ma

49. Homo heidelbergensis evolves.
0.6 Ma
28 Ma
6.5 Ma
50 Ma

50. last reversal of the earth's magnetic field
2.7 Ma
1.5 Ma
0.7 Ma
3 Ma