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. Emergence of the first true elephants.
20 Ma
28 Ma
26 Ma
36 Ma

2. Grasslands first appear. Glyptodonts - ground sloths - peccaries - dogs - eagles - and hawks evolve.
37 Ma
35 Ma
0.79 Ma
63 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
3 Ma
36 Ma
0.3 Ma

4. First Nimravids.
37 Ma
5.4-6.3 Ma
5 Ma
49 Ma

5. Earliest possible evidence of the controlled use of fire by Homo erectus
6 Ma
30 Ma
1.5 Ma
10 Ma

6. First mastodons - bovids - and kangaroos. Australian megafauna diversify.
15 Ma
18-12 Ma
4.5 Ma
0.79 Ma

7. Age of the Catarrhini parvorder; first canines evolve. Lepidopteran insects become recognizable. Gastornis goes extinct. Basilosaurus evolves.
26 Ma
40 Ma
52 Ma
25 Ma

8. First bats.
34 Ma
5 Ma
0.79 Ma
52 Ma

9. First mastodons - bovids - and kangaroos. Australian megafauna diversify.
15 Ma
30 Ma
1.2 Ma
24 Ma

10. Estimated age of the Homo/Pan (human vs. chimpanzee) split.
5.4-6.3 Ma
36 Ma
1.7 Ma
56 Ma

11. Grasslands first appear. Glyptodonts - ground sloths - peccaries - dogs - eagles - and hawks evolve.
34 Ma
40 Ma
35 Ma
0.2 Ma

12. Evolution of the first primates and miacids. Flightless birds diversify.
55 Ma
60 Ma
6 Ma
5 Ma

13. Appearance of the genus Australopithecus
0.2 Ma
0.7 Ma
15 Ma
4.5 Ma

14. Neanderthals evolve.
37 Ma
0.35 Ma
3 Ma
1.5 Ma

15. 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
49 Ma
3 Ma
1.2 Ma

16. First bats.
34 Ma
0.7 Ma
52 Ma
35 Ma

17. Middle Paleolithic begins. Appearance of Homo sapiens in Africa
0.2 Ma
63 Ma
60 Ma
1.2 Ma

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

19. The mammoth appears.
34 Ma
0.64 Ma
4.8 Ma
3 Ma

20. Homo antecessor evolves. Paranthropus dies out.
34 Ma
28 Ma
63 Ma
1.2 Ma

21. Cats evolve.
63 Ma
34 Ma
24 Ma
50 Ma

22. Appearance of the genus Australopithecus
20 Ma
6 Ma
4.5 Ma
40 Ma

23. Estimated age of the Hominidae/Hylobatidae (great apes vs. gibbons) split.
18-12 Ma
2.5 Ma
1.5 Ma
25 Ma

24. Australopithecines diversify.
0.2 Ma
28 Ma
6 Ma
56 Ma

25. Appearance of the genus Ardipithecus
5.5 Ma
0.6 Ma
4.8 Ma
60 Ma

26. Homo antecessor evolves. Paranthropus dies out.
10 Ma
33 Ma
1.5 Ma
1.2 Ma

27. last reversal of the earth's magnetic field
0.7 Ma
33 Ma
60 Ma
1.7 Ma

28. Paraceratherium evolves.
28 Ma
10 Ma
4.8 Ma
60 Ma

29. last reversal of the earth's magnetic field
60 Ma
52 Ma
15 Ma
0.7 Ma

30. current ice age begins
37 Ma
33 Ma
2.6 Ma
5 Ma

31. current ice age begins
24 Ma
28 Ma
36 Ma
2.6 Ma

32. First members of the Hominini tribe.
5.5 Ma
1.2 Ma
6.5 Ma
2.7 Ma

33. Giraffes and giant anteaters evolve.
20 Ma
52 Ma
55 Ma
37 Ma

34. Paranthropus evolve.
20 Ma
3 Ma
55 Ma
2.7 Ma

35. Gastornis evolves.
49 Ma
2.5 Ma
56 Ma
2.6 Ma

36. Homo heidelbergensis evolves.
1.5 Ma
34 Ma
34 Ma
0.6 Ma

37. Giraffes and giant anteaters evolve.
56 Ma
36 Ma
0.2 Ma
20 Ma

38. Paranthropus evolve.
2.6 Ma
49 Ma
2.7 Ma
1.2 Ma

39. Earliest demonstrable evidence of the controlled use of fire by Homo erectus
0.79 Ma
40 Ma
0.3 Ma
2.5 Ma

40. Africa collides with Eurasia - closing the Tethys Sea. Divergence of cat and dog ancestors. Primates diversify. Brontotheres - tapirs - rhinos - and camels evolve.
37 Ma
50 Ma
1.7 Ma
5.5 Ma

41. End of Eocene - start of Oligocene epoch.
28 Ma
56 Ma
1.7 Ma
36 Ma

42. 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
49 Ma
1.5 Ma

43. First deer.
3 Ma
36 Ma
25 Ma
49 Ma

44. Yellowstone caldera erupts
2.7 Ma
0.64 Ma
0.2 Ma
5 Ma

45. Cats evolve.
3 Ma
10 Ma
34 Ma
25 Ma

46. Pliocene epoch begins.First tree sloths and hippopotami.First large vultures. Nimravids go extinct.
5 Ma
2.7 Ma
24 Ma
2.5 Ma

47. 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
5.4-6.3 Ma
37 Ma
26 Ma

48. Isthmus of Panama joins North and South America. Great AmericanInterchange.
36 Ma
6 Ma
15 Ma
3 Ma

49. Evolution of the first primates and miacids. Flightless birds diversify.
18-12 Ma
2.5 Ma
60 Ma
4.8 Ma

50. colonisation of Eurasia by Homo erectus
0.7 Ma
25 Ma
0.5 Ma
0.64 Ma