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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. Cats evolve.
10 Ma
34 Ma
10 Ma
0.64 Ma

2. Estimated age of the Homo/Pan (human vs. chimpanzee) split.
6.5 Ma
2.7 Ma
37 Ma
5.4-6.3 Ma

3. Australopithecines go extinct.
1.7 Ma
37 Ma
0.35 Ma
55 Ma

4. Earliest demonstrable evidence of the controlled use of fire by Homo erectus
0.79 Ma
0.64 Ma
0.35 Ma
6 Ma

5. Isthmus of Panama joins North and South America. Great AmericanInterchange.
3 Ma
5.4-6.3 Ma
26 Ma
37 Ma

6. Australopithecines diversify.
4.5 Ma
0.7 Ma
6 Ma
26 Ma

7. Insects diversify.First large horses.
0.79 Ma
24 Ma
10 Ma
4.5 Ma

8. Gastornis evolves.
0.5 Ma
0.64 Ma
1.2 Ma
56 Ma

9. First members of the Hominini tribe.
0.79 Ma
1.2 Ma
2.5 Ma
6.5 Ma

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

11. Middle Paleolithic begins. Appearance of Homo sapiens in Africa
0.79 Ma
5 Ma
0.2 Ma
50 Ma

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

13. Giraffes and giant anteaters evolve.
55 Ma
20 Ma
0.3 Ma
0.79 Ma

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

15. Paraceratherium evolves.
28 Ma
63 Ma
50 Ma
35 Ma

16. Evolution of the first primates and miacids. Flightless birds diversify.
60 Ma
4.5 Ma
63 Ma
24 Ma

17. Homo antecessor evolves. Paranthropus dies out.
1.5 Ma
1.2 Ma
6 Ma
0.6 Ma

18. colonisation of Eurasia by Homo erectus
0.5 Ma
0.35 Ma
18-12 Ma
0.7 Ma

19. Age of the Catarrhini parvorder; first canines evolve. Lepidopteran insects become recognizable. Gastornis goes extinct. Basilosaurus evolves.
0.6 Ma
6.5 Ma
40 Ma
20 Ma

20. Grasslands first appear. Glyptodonts - ground sloths - peccaries - dogs - eagles - and hawks evolve.
5 Ma
26 Ma
0.3 Ma
35 Ma

21. Yellowstone caldera erupts
6 Ma
56 Ma
0.64 Ma
36 Ma

22. 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
15 Ma
49 Ma
1.5 Ma

23. Pliocene epoch begins.First tree sloths and hippopotami.First large vultures. Nimravids go extinct.
35 Ma
5.5 Ma
5.4-6.3 Ma
5 Ma

24. First thylacinid marsupials evolve.
40 Ma
33 Ma
0.5 Ma
52 Ma

25. 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
1.5 Ma
2.5 Ma
34 Ma

26. Australopithecines go extinct.
1.7 Ma
0.79 Ma
4.5 Ma
2.5 Ma

27. Earliest demonstrable evidence of the controlled use of fire by Homo erectus
5.4-6.3 Ma
0.79 Ma
34 Ma
0.7 Ma

28. Pliocene epoch begins.First tree sloths and hippopotami.First large vultures. Nimravids go extinct.
5 Ma
6.5 Ma
60 Ma
34 Ma

29. The mammoth appears.
0.2 Ma
4.8 Ma
5.5 Ma
26 Ma

30. First mastodons - bovids - and kangaroos. Australian megafauna diversify.
15 Ma
18-12 Ma
0.35 Ma
0.7 Ma

31. Giraffes and giant anteaters evolve.
20 Ma
6 Ma
5 Ma
2.5 Ma

32. Middle Paleolithic begins. Appearance of Homo sapiens in Africa
5.4-6.3 Ma
0.5 Ma
0.2 Ma
4.5 Ma

33. Brontotheres go extinct. Pigs evolve. South America separates from Antarctica - becoming an island continent.
56 Ma
2.5 Ma
28 Ma
30 Ma

34. First creodonts.
63 Ma
1.7 Ma
35 Ma
36 Ma

35. Approximate age of Canis lupus. Middle Stone Age begins in Africa. Gigantopithecus evolves.
0.3 Ma
5.4-6.3 Ma
3 Ma
25 Ma

36. current ice age begins
33 Ma
4.8 Ma
15 Ma
2.6 Ma

37. Neogene period and Miocene epoch begin
26 Ma
24 Ma
18-12 Ma
5.5 Ma

38. Isthmus of Panama joins North and South America. Great AmericanInterchange.
1.5 Ma
3 Ma
50 Ma
1.2 Ma

39. First mastodons - bovids - and kangaroos. Australian megafauna diversify.
56 Ma
4.8 Ma
15 Ma
49 Ma

40. Emergence of the first true elephants.
52 Ma
0.3 Ma
34 Ma
26 Ma

41. First bats.
30 Ma
6 Ma
52 Ma
24 Ma

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

43. Emergence of the first true elephants.
63 Ma
30 Ma
37 Ma
26 Ma

44. current ice age begins
5.4-6.3 Ma
6 Ma
2.6 Ma
24 Ma

45. Neanderthals evolve.
37 Ma
0.35 Ma
0.7 Ma
56 Ma

46. First members of the Hominini tribe.
6.5 Ma
2.7 Ma
37 Ma
1.5 Ma

47. Estimated age of the Hominidae/Hylobatidae (great apes vs. gibbons) split.
18-12 Ma
52 Ma
6.5 Ma
28 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.
1.2 Ma
2.5 Ma
25 Ma
56 Ma

49. First Nimravids.
0.64 Ma
18-12 Ma
4.8 Ma
37 Ma

50. Approximate age of Canis lupus. Middle Stone Age begins in Africa. Gigantopithecus evolves.
0.3 Ma
34 Ma
6 Ma
2.5 Ma