Lesson Agenda

01 03
Introduction Eras
An introduction to the concept of Geologic A discussion of the eras under the
Time Scale, including its definition and Phanerozoic Eon, namely the Paleozoic,
significance in earth history Mesozoic, and Cenozoic eras

02 04
Eons Periods
A discussion of the important eons in the A discussion of the numerous periods of the
time scale: Precambrian (Hadean, Archean, three major geological eras
and Proterozoic) and Phanerozoic
PALEOZOIC
ERA
“ancient
life”
 Paleozoic (541-252 million
years ago) means ‘ancient life.’ The
oldest animals on Earth appeared just
before the start of this era in the
Ediacaran Period, but scientists had
not yet discovered them when the
geologic timescale was made. Life was
primitive during the Paleozoic and
included many invertebrates (animals
without backbones) and the earliest
fish and amphibians.
 Cambrian period (541.0 MYA)

Paleozoic Era (544 Million Years Ago)

One large supercontinent (Gondwana) and eight smaller
continents, most of them located in the Southern Hemisphere.
The area that is North America today stretched along the
equator and a shallow sea covered part of the land.
Land animals hadn't evolved yet.
Marine life flourished.
Most major groups of invertebrates first appeared.
Protective shells and exoskeletons evolved. Many unique and
unusual invertebrates, which looked nothing like the animals
of today, swam in the Cambrian seas.
The most iconic invertebrates were trilobites, a group of
arthropods similar to horseshoe crabs that ranged in size
from a small coin to a tire.
 Cambrian period (541.0 MYA)

Paleozoic Era (544 Million Years Ago)

Crinoids, also known as sea lilies, lived attached to the
seafloor, filtering plankton out of the water with their
feather-like arms.
The first vertebrates (animals with backbones) were
primitive, jawless fish that first appeared near the end of the
Cambrian Period.
Many types of algae lived in the ocean.
Land plants had not yet evolved.
 Ordovician Period (485.4 MYA)

Paleozoic Era (544 Million Years Ago)

Most continents were still part of the supercontinent
Gondwana.
North America and northern Europe were slowly moving
toward each other.
Near the end of the Ordovician, the part of Gondwana that is
northern Africa today moved over the South Pole, triggering
an ice age.
When more of Earth’s water is frozen in glaciers, less water
fills the oceans and sea level drops. The massive glaciers that
formed on proto-Africa caused sea level to drop, emptying many
of the shallow seas that surrounded the continents.
 Ordovician Period (485.4 MYA)

Paleozoic Era (544 Million Years Ago)

Warm and wet like the Cambrian until near the end of the
Ordovician.
Then, the climate got much colder and an ice age began.
Trilobites and crinoids were still around.
Many new marine invertebrates with shells evolved at this
time and replaced Cambrian forms.
The first corals appeared, but they were not widespread.
Algae and sponges dominated reefs.
Jawless, armored fish were common.
The first land plants appeared.
They were similar to mosses and other plants without deep
roots or leaves.
 Ordovician Period (485.4 MYA)

Paleozoic Era (544 Million Years Ago)

Near the end of this period, North America and northern Europe
collided, forming the Taconic Mountains north of Virginia.
The mountains eventually eroded, sending large amounts of
sediment into the shallow sea that later solidified into
sedimentary rocks (shales and sandstones).
Later, these sedimentary rocks rose above sea level in what is
now Virginia.
A MASS EXTINCTION ended the Ordovician Period when ~80% of
species living in the shallow seas became extinct!
Abundant glaciers caused sea level to drop.
 Silurian Period (443.8 MYA)

Paleozoic Era (544 Million Years Ago) Gondwana started moving away from the South Pole.
North America and northern Europe had collided.
As Gondwana moved away from the South Pole, many of the
glaciers melted, and the ice age ended.
The climate was similar to today’s, with cold weather and
glaciers near the South Pole and warmer weather near the
equator.
There was a significant increase in sea level from the melted
ice, resulting in the reappearance of many shallow seas.
Large coral reefs first appeared, and they were common in
tropical shallow seas.
There was significant evolution in the jawless fishes, and
some species lived in brackish waters.
 Silurian Period (443.8 MYA)

Paleozoic Era (544 Million Years Ago) The first fish with jaws appeared.
The first evidence for animals on land occurred in the
Silurian: scorpions and millipede-like animals.
The first vascular plants (with veins for transporting
liquids) appeared, but they were very small.
Once these land plants appeared, they rapidly covered most of
the land surface.
 Devonian Period (419.2 MYA)

Paleozoic Era (544 Million Years Ago) At the beginning of the Devonian, there were three major
continental masses.
The North America/Europe continent was near the equator.
To the north was a portion of modern Siberia, and Gondwana
dominated the Southern Hemisphere.
During the Devonian, all three continents were moving
toward each other.
Sea level was high, and much of what is land today was under
shallow seas.
Because so much of the land was near the equator, the climate
was warm and mild; it was a greenhouse age.
The interiors of the large continents were dry, and salt and
gypsum deposits formed.
 Devonian Period (419.2 MYA)

Paleozoic Era (544 Million Years Ago) The shallow, tropical seas had abundant reefs and were home
to a myriad of sea life.
Sharks became common at this time.
The first lobe-finned fish evolved early in the Devonian, and by
the end of the Devonian had evolved into the first amphibian-
like animals.
These proto-amphibians were the very first vertebrates to
inhabit the land.
The oldest preserved insects and centipedes appeared in the
Devonian.
Trilobites were declining, and this may have been due to an
increase in swimming predators.
 Devonian Period (419.2 MYA)

Paleozoic Era (544 Million Years Ago) By the end of the Devonian, the first trees and the forests were
present.
Ferns and seed-producing plants also first evolved in the Late
Devonian.
No flowering plants existed.
Because of the great increase in land plant debris, the first
loamy soils, ideal for plant growth, were formed.
 carboniferous period (358.9 MYA)

Paleozoic Era (544 Million Years Ago)

The Carboniferous Period is often further divided into two
different periods - The Mississippian Period (early
Carboniferous) and the Pennsylvanian Period (late
Carboniferous).The Carboniferous has a clue in its name – CARBON
– and this is when much of Earth’s carbon-rich coals formed
because many places on Earth were swampy.

The continent of Gondwana moved close enough to the North

America/Europe continent to cause initial uplift of the
Appalachian Mountains.
Their eventual continental collision created the super
continent Pangaea by the beginning of the Permian Period.
 carboniferous period (358.9 MYA)

Paleozoic Era (544 Million Years Ago)

The early part of the Carboniferous had a uniform, tropical,
wet climate with little seasonality.
As part of Gondwana reached the South Pole, a major ice age
began.
There were alternating glacial periods when vast ice sheets
covered much of Gondwana and nonglacial times when much of
the ice melted.
This caused repeated major changes in sea level.
Land near the equator always stayed moist and tropical.
The shallow seas surrounding each continent retreated as the
continents approached each other and as the ice ages caused
periodic lowering of sea level.
 carboniferous period (358.9 MYA)

Paleozoic Era (544 Million Years Ago)

With the loss of these seas, many of the shallow marine
organisms disappeared.
On land, the first reptiles appeared, and they laid the first
shelled eggs.
The first land snails and insects with wings appeared (i.e.,
dragonflies and mayflies), and some of these had wingspans of
more than three feet!
Forests were widespread near the equator.
Lush plant growth provided the raw material for the great
coal deposits of the world.
The first conifers appeared during the Carboniferous.
The Appalachian Mountains began to rise.
 Permian Period (298.9 MYA)

Paleozoic Era (544 Million Years Ago)

Pangaea now existed as a super continent that contained
almost all the land area of the world.
This continent stretched from the North Pole to the South Pole
and was the largest land mass since before the Cambrian
Period.
Once again, there was an ice sheet at the South Pole.
There were fewer shallow seas than during the Carboniferous
Period.
With all the landmass now in one giant continent, there were
huge climatic changes.
Because there were no moderating effects from nearby water
bodies, vast deserts formed in the central region of Pangaea.
 Permian Period (298.9 MYA)

Paleozoic Era (544 Million Years Ago)

These deserts had great daily and seasonal temperature
changes, perhaps greater than anything we see on the planet
today.
The drier climate doomed the mighty coal swamps of the
Carboniferous.
There was a wide latitudinal variation in climate with
glaciers at the poles and tropical vegetation at the equator.
Shallow coastal seas continued to decrease in size, so
habitats for shallow marine organisms also decreased..
As many swamps dried up, amphibian populations dwindled.
Reptiles diversified and spread across the land.
The precursors to mammals evolved.
 Permian Period (298.9 MYA)

Paleozoic Era (544 Million Years Ago)

As Pangaea became more arid and seasonal, most of the tropical
coal swamps disappeared.
Swamps were replaced by temperate forests that contained
abundant conifers.
The LARGEST MASS EXTINCTION of life on our planet occurred at
the end of the Permian when ~ 96% of all species perished.
Evidence suggests that massive volcanic eruptions, one or
more meteor impacts, and/or a rapid temperature increase due
to a sudden release of methane from the ocean bottoms may have
contributed to this extinction.