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

2. Isthmus of Panama joins North and South America. Great AmericanInterchange.
6 Ma
0.2 Ma
3 Ma
0.2 Ma

3. Giraffes and giant anteaters evolve.
33 Ma
0.64 Ma
20 Ma
40 Ma

4. Earliest possible evidence of the controlled use of fire by Homo erectus
55 Ma
3 Ma
0.3 Ma
1.5 Ma

5. First members of the Hominini tribe.
0.2 Ma
0.2 Ma
6.5 Ma
0.6 Ma

6. First thylacinid marsupials evolve.
28 Ma
24 Ma
0.64 Ma
33 Ma

7. Insects diversify.First large horses.
3 Ma
5 Ma
1.5 Ma
10 Ma

8. Grasslands first appear. Glyptodonts - ground sloths - peccaries - dogs - eagles - and hawks evolve.
2.7 Ma
6 Ma
35 Ma
1.2 Ma

9. Approximate age of Canis lupus. Middle Stone Age begins in Africa. Gigantopithecus evolves.
6 Ma
5.5 Ma
10 Ma
0.3 Ma

10. Australopithecines diversify.
55 Ma
6 Ma
1.2 Ma
37 Ma

11. Giraffes and giant anteaters evolve.
4.5 Ma
6.5 Ma
20 Ma
1.2 Ma

12. Whales return to the water.
2.7 Ma
5.5 Ma
56 Ma
49 Ma

13. last reversal of the earth's magnetic field
0.7 Ma
52 Ma
2.6 Ma
30 Ma

14. Gastornis evolves.
63 Ma
0.3 Ma
56 Ma
24 Ma

15. Appearance of the genus Australopithecus
1.2 Ma
2.5 Ma
4.5 Ma
24 Ma

16. Homo heidelbergensis evolves.
34 Ma
10 Ma
2.5 Ma
0.6 Ma

17. Estimated age of the Homo/Pan (human vs. chimpanzee) split.
5.4-6.3 Ma
35 Ma
50 Ma
33 Ma

18. 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 -
18-12 Ma
6 Ma
5 Ma
55 Ma

19. Estimated age of the Hominidae/Hylobatidae (great apes vs. gibbons) split.
50 Ma
18-12 Ma
2.5 Ma
35 Ma

20. Insects diversify.First large horses.
3 Ma
35 Ma
0.79 Ma
10 Ma

21. Emergence of the first true elephants.
26 Ma
35 Ma
0.3 Ma
0.35 Ma

22. End of Eocene - start of Oligocene epoch.
36 Ma
4.5 Ma
0.64 Ma
5.5 Ma

23. First members of the Hominini tribe.
2.5 Ma
5 Ma
6.5 Ma
30 Ma

24. Yellowstone caldera erupts
5.4-6.3 Ma
0.64 Ma
10 Ma
1.2 Ma

25. Isthmus of Panama joins North and South America. Great AmericanInterchange.
50 Ma
36 Ma
3 Ma
5 Ma

26. 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.
24 Ma
5.4-6.3 Ma
2.5 Ma
3 Ma

27. Evolution of the first primates and miacids. Flightless birds diversify.
37 Ma
63 Ma
60 Ma
1.2 Ma

28. Approximate age of Canis lupus. Middle Stone Age begins in Africa. Gigantopithecus evolves.
0.3 Ma
0.2 Ma
28 Ma
0.79 Ma

29. First mastodons - bovids - and kangaroos. Australian megafauna diversify.
34 Ma
0.3 Ma
5.4-6.3 Ma
15 Ma

30. Grasslands first appear. Glyptodonts - ground sloths - peccaries - dogs - eagles - and hawks evolve.
6.5 Ma
20 Ma
35 Ma
0.7 Ma

31. Paraceratherium evolves.
20 Ma
0.3 Ma
6.5 Ma
28 Ma

32. Pliocene epoch begins.First tree sloths and hippopotami.First large vultures. Nimravids go extinct.
26 Ma
1.5 Ma
49 Ma
5 Ma

33. Homo antecessor evolves. Paranthropus dies out.
0.79 Ma
1.2 Ma
35 Ma
18-12 Ma

34. Yellowstone caldera erupts
20 Ma
0.64 Ma
2.6 Ma
35 Ma

35. First creodonts.
36 Ma
49 Ma
63 Ma
25 Ma

36. Neogene period and Miocene epoch begin
4.5 Ma
4.8 Ma
3 Ma
24 Ma

37. Paraceratherium evolves.
0.6 Ma
28 Ma
0.2 Ma
40 Ma

38. 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
18-12 Ma
0.35 Ma
15 Ma

39. 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
50 Ma
1.2 Ma
33 Ma

40. Middle Paleolithic begins. Appearance of Homo sapiens in Africa
18-12 Ma
0.3 Ma
0.2 Ma
5 Ma

41. current ice age begins
34 Ma
50 Ma
63 Ma
2.6 Ma

42. Age of the Catarrhini parvorder; first canines evolve. Lepidopteran insects become recognizable. Gastornis goes extinct. Basilosaurus evolves.
36 Ma
2.7 Ma
10 Ma
40 Ma

43. Gastornis evolves.
4.8 Ma
56 Ma
5 Ma
0.64 Ma

44. Australopithecines go extinct.
35 Ma
1.7 Ma
15 Ma
24 Ma

45. Australopithecines diversify.
6 Ma
0.6 Ma
28 Ma
25 Ma

46. last reversal of the earth's magnetic field
0.7 Ma
10 Ma
26 Ma
49 Ma

47. First bats.
0.5 Ma
34 Ma
52 Ma
1.7 Ma

48. Whales return to the water.
6 Ma
2.6 Ma
60 Ma
49 Ma

49. Neogene period and Miocene epoch begin
0.35 Ma
2.7 Ma
24 Ma
1.5 Ma

50. End of Eocene - start of Oligocene epoch.
34 Ma
10 Ma
36 Ma
1.5 Ma