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. last reversal of the earth's magnetic field
26 Ma
0.7 Ma
34 Ma
0.6 Ma

2. Australopithecines diversify.
63 Ma
37 Ma
6 Ma
0.64 Ma

3. Homo antecessor evolves. Paranthropus dies out.
1.2 Ma
4.5 Ma
60 Ma
25 Ma

4. Evolution of the first primates and miacids. Flightless birds diversify.
35 Ma
2.6 Ma
3 Ma
60 Ma

5. 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
56 Ma
0.3 Ma
37 Ma

6. Homo heidelbergensis evolves.
6.5 Ma
50 Ma
0.6 Ma
25 Ma

7. First mastodons - bovids - and kangaroos. Australian megafauna diversify.
50 Ma
15 Ma
6 Ma
2.6 Ma

8. 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 -
0.7 Ma
3 Ma
55 Ma
49 Ma

9. Paraceratherium evolves.
0.35 Ma
28 Ma
55 Ma
2.6 Ma

10. First creodonts.
33 Ma
0.79 Ma
63 Ma
0.6 Ma

11. Insects diversify.First large horses.
25 Ma
6 Ma
26 Ma
10 Ma

12. End of Eocene - start of Oligocene epoch.
1.5 Ma
63 Ma
36 Ma
0.6 Ma

13. Grasslands first appear. Glyptodonts - ground sloths - peccaries - dogs - eagles - and hawks evolve.
35 Ma
2.6 Ma
52 Ma
2.7 Ma

14. Insects diversify.First large horses.
52 Ma
33 Ma
10 Ma
37 Ma

15. Emergence of the first true elephants.
60 Ma
26 Ma
24 Ma
2.7 Ma

16. Paraceratherium evolves.
25 Ma
28 Ma
1.7 Ma
2.7 Ma

17. Middle Paleolithic begins. Appearance of Homo sapiens in Africa
0.2 Ma
28 Ma
18-12 Ma
1.7 Ma

18. Australopithecines diversify.
6 Ma
0.35 Ma
1.7 Ma
34 Ma

19. Cats evolve.
34 Ma
4.8 Ma
1.2 Ma
0.35 Ma

20. First thylacinid marsupials evolve.
55 Ma
26 Ma
33 Ma
4.8 Ma

21. First deer.
25 Ma
20 Ma
4.5 Ma
0.7 Ma

22. Neogene period and Miocene epoch begin
24 Ma
4.8 Ma
30 Ma
26 Ma

23. Gastornis evolves.
56 Ma
40 Ma
2.6 Ma
50 Ma

24. Australopithecines go extinct.
40 Ma
1.7 Ma
10 Ma
36 Ma

25. Paranthropus evolve.
2.7 Ma
56 Ma
36 Ma
52 Ma

26. Approximate age of Canis lupus. Middle Stone Age begins in Africa. Gigantopithecus evolves.
18-12 Ma
40 Ma
0.79 Ma
0.3 Ma

27. Neanderthals evolve.
25 Ma
18-12 Ma
0.35 Ma
5 Ma

28. Earliest possible evidence of the controlled use of fire by Homo erectus
4.8 Ma
1.5 Ma
30 Ma
40 Ma

29. Isthmus of Panama joins North and South America. Great AmericanInterchange.
3 Ma
36 Ma
55 Ma
6 Ma

30. End of Eocene - start of Oligocene epoch.
63 Ma
36 Ma
6.5 Ma
2.6 Ma

31. Cats evolve.
36 Ma
34 Ma
5 Ma
35 Ma

32. Appearance of the genus Australopithecus
40 Ma
28 Ma
4.5 Ma
55 Ma

33. First Nimravids.
4.8 Ma
49 Ma
1.7 Ma
37 Ma

34. Homo heidelbergensis evolves.
60 Ma
35 Ma
63 Ma
0.6 Ma

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

36. Yellowstone caldera erupts
0.35 Ma
15 Ma
5.4-6.3 Ma
0.64 Ma

37. Whales return to the water.
49 Ma
6.5 Ma
33 Ma
56 Ma

38. First members of the Hominini tribe.
0.79 Ma
6.5 Ma
0.79 Ma
2.5 Ma

39. Appearance of the genus Australopithecus
1.5 Ma
5.4-6.3 Ma
4.5 Ma
55 Ma

40. Whales return to the water.
0.2 Ma
49 Ma
5.5 Ma
20 Ma

41. First deer.
33 Ma
1.5 Ma
25 Ma
55 Ma

42. The mammoth appears.
0.7 Ma
4.8 Ma
33 Ma
1.5 Ma

43. colonisation of Eurasia by Homo erectus
2.6 Ma
2.5 Ma
25 Ma
0.5 Ma

44. First members of the Hominini tribe.
10 Ma
26 Ma
6.5 Ma
3 Ma

45. 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 -
4.8 Ma
50 Ma
30 Ma
55 Ma

46. Estimated age of the Homo/Pan (human vs. chimpanzee) split.
40 Ma
5.4-6.3 Ma
10 Ma
34 Ma

47. The mammoth appears.
4.8 Ma
34 Ma
2.7 Ma
0.3 Ma

48. First thylacinid marsupials evolve.
1.5 Ma
60 Ma
33 Ma
26 Ma

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

50. First creodonts.
0.3 Ma
63 Ma
20 Ma
0.64 Ma