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Cenozoic History Timeline

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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. Homo antecessor evolves. Paranthropus dies out.
30 Ma
1.5 Ma
18-12 Ma
1.2 Ma

2. Brontotheres go extinct. Pigs evolve. South America separates from Antarctica - becoming an island continent.
30 Ma
24 Ma
60 Ma
2.6 Ma

3. Emergence of the first true elephants.
18-12 Ma
37 Ma
26 Ma
0.64 Ma

4. last reversal of the earth's magnetic field
0.6 Ma
5 Ma
30 Ma
0.7 Ma

5. Earliest possible evidence of the controlled use of fire by Homo erectus
1.5 Ma
24 Ma
15 Ma
2.5 Ma

6. Paranthropus evolve.
2.7 Ma
2.6 Ma
34 Ma
50 Ma

7. Australopithecines go extinct.
0.7 Ma
4.5 Ma
0.6 Ma
1.7 Ma

8. The mammoth appears.
0.64 Ma
4.8 Ma
2.7 Ma
35 Ma

9. current ice age begins
2.6 Ma
5.4-6.3 Ma
34 Ma
4.5 Ma

10. Insects diversify.First large horses.
0.2 Ma
5.5 Ma
10 Ma
1.7 Ma

11. Neogene period and Miocene epoch begin
1.2 Ma
6.5 Ma
24 Ma
15 Ma

12. End of Eocene - start of Oligocene epoch.
5.4-6.3 Ma
36 Ma
4.8 Ma
49 Ma

13. Whales return to the water.
49 Ma
0.64 Ma
20 Ma
1.7 Ma

14. Cats evolve.
52 Ma
18-12 Ma
2.7 Ma
34 Ma

15. Estimated age of the Homo/Pan (human vs. chimpanzee) split.
63 Ma
5.4-6.3 Ma
50 Ma
1.5 Ma

16. Appearance of the genus Ardipithecus
5.5 Ma
25 Ma
0.7 Ma
6.5 Ma

17. Earliest possible evidence of the controlled use of fire by Homo erectus
1.5 Ma
0.64 Ma
2.7 Ma
4.8 Ma

18. End of Eocene - start of Oligocene epoch.
2.7 Ma
36 Ma
0.5 Ma
4.8 Ma

19. Neanderthals evolve.
6.5 Ma
28 Ma
5 Ma
0.35 Ma

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

21. last reversal of the earth's magnetic field
25 Ma
15 Ma
4.8 Ma
0.7 Ma

22. Evolution of the first primates and miacids. Flightless birds diversify.
55 Ma
60 Ma
37 Ma
28 Ma

23. Neanderthals evolve.
5.5 Ma
1.2 Ma
0.35 Ma
26 Ma

24. First Nimravids.
0.79 Ma
4.5 Ma
37 Ma
34 Ma

25. Middle Paleolithic begins. Appearance of Homo sapiens in Africa
1.2 Ma
0.2 Ma
56 Ma
0.5 Ma

26. 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
30 Ma
2.5 Ma
36 Ma

27. Giraffes and giant anteaters evolve.
56 Ma
52 Ma
37 Ma
20 Ma

28. Appearance of the genus Australopithecus
0.5 Ma
4.5 Ma
1.5 Ma
4.8 Ma

29. First mastodons - bovids - and kangaroos. Australian megafauna diversify.
52 Ma
2.5 Ma
49 Ma
15 Ma

30. Approximate age of Canis lupus. Middle Stone Age begins in Africa. Gigantopithecus evolves.
0.3 Ma
5 Ma
37 Ma
0.64 Ma

31. Estimated age of the Hominidae/Hylobatidae (great apes vs. gibbons) split.
0.2 Ma
18-12 Ma
30 Ma
28 Ma

32. First deer.
30 Ma
3 Ma
49 Ma
25 Ma

33. Isthmus of Panama joins North and South America. Great AmericanInterchange.
2.6 Ma
26 Ma
20 Ma
3 Ma

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

35. current ice age begins
2.6 Ma
0.3 Ma
0.5 Ma
0.64 Ma

36. First creodonts.
63 Ma
0.2 Ma
0.79 Ma
35 Ma

37. Isthmus of Panama joins North and South America. Great AmericanInterchange.
3 Ma
18-12 Ma
30 Ma
50 Ma

38. Evolution of the first primates and miacids. Flightless birds diversify.
33 Ma
4.8 Ma
1.2 Ma
60 Ma

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

40. Estimated age of the Homo/Pan (human vs. chimpanzee) split.
0.6 Ma
1.2 Ma
5.4-6.3 Ma
24 Ma

41. Homo heidelbergensis evolves.
0.6 Ma
5.4-6.3 Ma
50 Ma
6 Ma

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

43. 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.
36 Ma
60 Ma
24 Ma
2.5 Ma

44. Paranthropus evolve.
0.35 Ma
5 Ma
26 Ma
2.7 Ma

45. Yellowstone caldera erupts
4.5 Ma
0.3 Ma
26 Ma
0.64 Ma

46. First bats.
24 Ma
3 Ma
30 Ma
52 Ma

47. Homo antecessor evolves. Paranthropus dies out.
1.7 Ma
63 Ma
18-12 Ma
1.2 Ma

48. 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.
0.2 Ma
0.3 Ma
0.5 Ma
2.5 Ma

49. First mastodons - bovids - and kangaroos. Australian megafauna diversify.
20 Ma
52 Ma
0.79 Ma
15 Ma

50. colonisation of Eurasia by Homo erectus
60 Ma
33 Ma
49 Ma
0.5 Ma