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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. last reversal of the earth's magnetic field
30 Ma
40 Ma
0.7 Ma
2.7 Ma

2. Australopithecines go extinct.
1.7 Ma
0.3 Ma
0.3 Ma
2.6 Ma

3. Brontotheres go extinct. Pigs evolve. South America separates from Antarctica - becoming an island continent.
30 Ma
0.7 Ma
52 Ma
36 Ma

4. Yellowstone caldera erupts
26 Ma
0.64 Ma
50 Ma
49 Ma

5. Homo antecessor evolves. Paranthropus dies out.
26 Ma
55 Ma
37 Ma
1.2 Ma

6. Australopithecines diversify.
3 Ma
0.64 Ma
6 Ma
55 Ma

7. Appearance of the genus Ardipithecus
25 Ma
5.5 Ma
35 Ma
2.5 Ma

8. First mastodons - bovids - and kangaroos. Australian megafauna diversify.
0.7 Ma
1.2 Ma
15 Ma
0.2 Ma

9. Yellowstone caldera erupts
0.64 Ma
52 Ma
2.6 Ma
63 Ma

10. Whales return to the water.
50 Ma
0.6 Ma
49 Ma
25 Ma

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

12. Giraffes and giant anteaters evolve.
20 Ma
2.5 Ma
0.3 Ma
37 Ma

13. First Nimravids.
28 Ma
37 Ma
40 Ma
26 Ma

14. End of Eocene - start of Oligocene epoch.
33 Ma
34 Ma
2.6 Ma
36 Ma

15. The mammoth appears.
4.8 Ma
2.5 Ma
2.7 Ma
35 Ma

16. Middle Paleolithic begins. Appearance of Homo sapiens in Africa
0.35 Ma
1.2 Ma
0.2 Ma
6 Ma

17. First creodonts.
25 Ma
63 Ma
55 Ma
4.8 Ma

18. Australopithecines diversify.
4.5 Ma
6.5 Ma
28 Ma
6 Ma

19. Gastornis evolves.
4.5 Ma
56 Ma
2.6 Ma
28 Ma

20. Earliest possible evidence of the controlled use of fire by Homo erectus
1.5 Ma
20 Ma
34 Ma
63 Ma

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

22. Homo heidelbergensis evolves.
0.6 Ma
4.8 Ma
60 Ma
6 Ma

23. The mammoth appears.
4.5 Ma
4.8 Ma
1.5 Ma
49 Ma

24. colonisation of Eurasia by Homo erectus
0.7 Ma
1.2 Ma
0.5 Ma
3 Ma

25. Homo heidelbergensis evolves.
0.5 Ma
5.4-6.3 Ma
0.6 Ma
2.7 Ma

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

27. Emergence of the first true elephants.
35 Ma
26 Ma
33 Ma
34 Ma

28. Neogene period and Miocene epoch begin
0.5 Ma
40 Ma
24 Ma
2.5 Ma

29. First thylacinid marsupials evolve.
4.8 Ma
36 Ma
34 Ma
33 Ma

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

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

32. End of Eocene - start of Oligocene epoch.
26 Ma
0.79 Ma
36 Ma
15 Ma

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

34. Paranthropus evolve.
0.3 Ma
49 Ma
10 Ma
2.7 Ma

35. 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.
0.64 Ma
1.2 Ma
0.79 Ma
2.5 Ma

36. Middle Paleolithic begins. Appearance of Homo sapiens in Africa
63 Ma
34 Ma
0.2 Ma
2.6 Ma

37. Grasslands first appear. Glyptodonts - ground sloths - peccaries - dogs - eagles - and hawks evolve.
49 Ma
30 Ma
35 Ma
26 Ma

38. First bats.
0.3 Ma
33 Ma
1.7 Ma
52 Ma

39. last reversal of the earth's magnetic field
35 Ma
49 Ma
0.7 Ma
63 Ma

40. Neogene period and Miocene epoch begin
0.79 Ma
50 Ma
52 Ma
24 Ma

41. 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
37 Ma
2.5 Ma
5.4-6.3 Ma

42. Insects diversify.First large horses.
60 Ma
10 Ma
15 Ma
0.5 Ma

43. Evolution of the first primates and miacids. Flightless birds diversify.
30 Ma
36 Ma
40 Ma
60 Ma

44. Neanderthals evolve.
0.35 Ma
24 Ma
36 Ma
56 Ma

45. current ice age begins
26 Ma
2.6 Ma
33 Ma
5 Ma

46. First mastodons - bovids - and kangaroos. Australian megafauna diversify.
0.35 Ma
15 Ma
0.79 Ma
60 Ma

47. Appearance of the genus Ardipithecus
5.5 Ma
56 Ma
33 Ma
50 Ma

48. Cats evolve.
34 Ma
26 Ma
33 Ma
4.8 Ma

49. Paraceratherium evolves.
49 Ma
28 Ma
0.79 Ma
25 Ma

50. Earliest demonstrable evidence of the controlled use of fire by Homo erectus
10 Ma
0.79 Ma
20 Ma
5.4-6.3 Ma