home Fairy tales Stages of evolution of life on earth table. The main stages of the evolution of flora and fauna

Stages of evolution of life on earth table. The main stages of the evolution of flora and fauna

During a long historical development There is a great variety of life on earth species and systems.

1) In what environment did the first living beings on Earth arise? Describe them.

Answer: Formation and development took place in an aquatic environment, which, in terms of saturation with organic and inorganic substances, was similar to a broth.

2) On the basis of what data the history of the Earth is divided into major stages. What other stages are they divided into?

Answer: The history of the Earth and the development of life on the planet is divided into stages - eras. In eras, periods are distinguished, and in periods - epochs.

3) Fill in the table "Development of life on Earth".

Era name	Duration million years	Animal and plant world
catarchean	began about 4500 million years ago	synthesis of the first organic compounds
archaeus	started about 3500 million years ago	photosynthesis, eukaryotic cells, sexual process, multicellularity
Proterozoic	started 2500 million years ago	bilateral symmetry, three-layer structure, organ systems, hindgut and anus
Paleozoic	began 534 million years ago	the appearance of organisms with a mineral skeleton, the differentiation of the plant body into tissues, the division of the animal body into sections, the formation of jaws, the appearance of limb belts in vertebrates. Dissection of the plant body into organs, transformation of fins into terrestrial limbs, the appearance of air respiration organs, internal fertilization, dense egg shells, keratinization of the skin, seed formation, pollen tube and seed formation
Mesozoic	began about 248 million years ago	4-chambered heart, complete separation of arterial and venous blood flow, mammary glands, the appearance of a flower and fetus, the formation of a uterus
Cenozoic	began over 65 million years ago	intensive development of the cerebral cortex, thinking, upright posture

4) Why can the beginning of the Paleozoic era be called a key milestone in the history of the development of life on Earth?

Answer: Vertebrates appeared, in fresh waters- sharks and bony fish - lungfish and lobe-finned fish; plants, animals and fungi came to land.

5) What were the first organisms that left the aquatic environment and began their "triumphal march" on land? When and how was soil formed?

Answer: Prokaryotes (bacteria and cyanobacteria) were the first to land. This happened back in the Archaean. With the release of prokaryotes on land, the process of soil formation began.

6) What features were characteristic of the first inhabitants of the land?

Answer: The appearance in organisms of nocturnal and ancient image life, rhythms of development were developed, leaves and branching of shoots developed in plants.

7) Why do the most ancient, primitive and highly organized animals exist simultaneously in the same habitat at the present time? Illustrate your answer with examples.

Answer: All organisms are interconnected.

Dinosaur skeletons have been found throughout human history, but our ancestors mistook them for the bones of dragons, griffins, and other mythical creatures. When scientists first encountered dinosaur remains in 1677, the director of one of the British museums, Robert Plot, identified the pieces of bone as fragments. femur giant man. Myths about antediluvian giants developed for several hundred more years, until scientists learned how to accurately restore fossil remains and determine their age. The science of fossil animals is being improved today, applying latest methods research. Thanks to them, scientists can accurately restore the appearance of amazing creatures that walked the earth millions of years ago.

Exceptionally rich material for the development of evolutionary ideas was provided by the science of paleontology, which studies the history of life from the remains of organisms that have been preserved in rocks and sediments (see Fig. 1). Paleontology has recreated the main chronology of events that occurred mainly in the last 700 million years, when the evolution of life on our planet was especially intensive.

This part of the history of the development of the Earth is usually divided into large intervals, which are called eras. Eras, in turn, are divided into smaller intervals - periods. Periods - for epochs and centuries. The era names are of Greek origin. For example, Mesozoic - "middle life", Cenozoic - " new life". Each era, and sometimes even a period, has its own characteristics in the development of the animal and flora ().

For the first 1.5 billion years after the formation of our planet, living organisms did not exist on it. This period is called katarchey (Greek "below the most ancient"). In the Katarchean, the formation of the earth's surface took place, active volcanic and mountain-building processes were going on. Life arose on the border of the Catarchean and the Archean era. This is evidenced by the finds of traces of vital activity of microorganisms in rocks aged 3.5-3.8 billion years.

The Archean era lasted 900 million years and left almost no traces of organic life. Presence of breeds organic origin: limestone, marble, carbon dioxide indicates the existence in the Archean era of bacteria and cyanobacteria, that is, prokaryotic organisms (see Fig. 2). They lived in the seas, but, perhaps, went out on land as well. In Archaea, water is saturated with oxygen, and soil-forming processes take place on land.

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It was in the Archean era that three major changes occurred in the development of living organisms: the emergence of the sexual process, the emergence of photosynthesis, and the emergence of multicellularity ().

The sexual process arose as a result of the fusion of two identical cells in flagellates, which are considered the most ancient unicellular. With the advent of photosynthesis, a single trunk of life was divided into two - plants and animals. And multicellularity led to a further complication of life: tissue differentiation, the emergence of organs and organ systems (see Fig. 3).

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In the Proterozoic era lasting 2 billion years, algae develop - green, brown, red (see Fig. 4), and fungi also appear.

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The ancestors of multicellular organisms may have been colonial organisms like modern colonial flagellates (see Fig. 5). And the first multicellular organisms were like modern sponges and corals (see Fig. 6).

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The fauna of that period was represented by all types of invertebrates (see Fig. 7).

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It is believed that at the end of the Proterozoic era, primary chordates, a subtype of non-cranial, appeared, the only representative of which in the modern fauna is the lancelet (see Fig. 8).

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Bilateral symmetrical animals appear, sense organs, nerve nodes develop, and the behavior of animals becomes more complicated (see Fig. 9).

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The Paleozoic era began 570 million years ago and was characterized by the most important evolutionary events in the history of the development of organic life on Earth (). At the beginning of this era, a significant part of the Earth's land was formed, the formation of the ozone screen ended, which made it possible for the first plants, rhyniophytes, to come to earth about 400 million years ago (see Fig. 10, 11). They, unlike algae, already possessed conductive, integumentary and mechanical tissues; allowing to exist in the conditions of the ground-air environment. The main groups of higher spore plants then originated from rhinophytes: lycopods, horsetails and ferns, from which primary forests were formed () (see Fig. 12).

During the Carboniferous period, there was a major evolutionary upsurge in the development of terrestrial vegetation.

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This period was characterized by a warm, humid climate. On Earth, huge terrestrial forests were formed, consisting of giant ferns, tree-like horsetails and club mosses from 15 to 20 m high.

They had a good conducting system, roots, leaves, but their reproduction was still associated with water. During this period, seed ferns grew, which developed seeds instead of spores (see Fig. 13). The appearance of seed plants was the largest aromorphosis in the history of the development of the Earth, since the reproduction of seed plants no longer depended on water. The embryo is located in the seed and is provided with a supply of nutrients.

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Since the end of the Carboniferous period, due to the active mountain-building process, the humid climate everywhere becomes dry. Tree ferns are dying out, leaving only their small forms in damp places. Seed ferns are also dying out. The forests of the Carboniferous period led to the formation of coal deposits.

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In the development of the animal world in the Paleozoic (see Fig. 14), the most important evolutionary events also took place. At the beginning of the era, the first vertebrates appeared - armored fish. They possessed an internal skeleton that gave them an advantage in movement compared to invertebrates. Cartilaginous and bony fish then evolved from armored fish (see Fig. 15). Among the bony fish, the lobe-finned fish stood out, from which the first terrestrial vertebrates originated about 300 million years ago.

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The most primitive terrestrial vertebrates are considered to be ancient amphibians - stegocephals, which lived in marshy places (see Fig. 16, 17). Stegocephals combined the signs of fish and amphibians ().

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Animals of this period, like plants, lived in humid places, so they could not spread inland and occupy places remote from water bodies. With the onset of dry conditions at the end of the Carboniferous period, large amphibians disappear, only small forms remain in damp places.

Amphibians were replaced by reptiles (see Fig. 18). More protected and adapted to existence in a dry climate on land, all reptiles, unlike amphibians, have skin protected from drying out with horny scales. Their reproduction is no longer associated with water, and the eggs are protected by dense shells.

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The Mesozoic era began about 230 million years ago. Climatic conditions were favorable to further development life on our earth. Gymnosperms dominated on land at that moment, but about 140 million years ago, the first angiosperms, or flowering plants, already arose ().

The seas were dominated by cephalopods and bony fish (see Fig. 19). Giant lizards lived on land - dinosaurs, as well as viviparous ichthyosaurs, crocodiles, flying lizards (see Fig. 20, 21).

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But giant reptiles died out relatively quickly. At the beginning of the Mesozoic, about 200 million years ago, the first birds originated from a group of ornithischian reptiles (see Fig. 22), and the first mammals originated from a group of animal-like reptiles (see Fig. 23).

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A high level of metabolism, warm-bloodedness, a developed brain allowed birds and mammals to occupy a dominant position on our planet.

The Cenozoic era began 67 million years ago and continues to the present day. After the Pleogen and Neogene, the third period of the era began - the Anthropogen, in which we now live.

During this era, the seas and continents took shape in their modern form. In the Pleogen, angiosperms spread throughout the land and in freshwater reservoirs, active mountain-building processes took place, as a result of which the climate became colder. This has led to the replacement of evergreen forests by deciduous forests. In the anthropogen, the modern flora and fauna finally formed, a person arose ().

Paleontology

Paleontology is a science that studies the history of the development of life on Earth according to the remains, imprints and traces of the vital activity of ancient living organisms preserved in sedimentary rocks. Scientific paleontology originated in late XVIII century. Georges Leopold Cuvier is considered its founder (Fig. 24).

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For more than 200 years of its existence, paleontology has accumulated a huge amount of material about ancient plants and animals, many of which are completely different from modern life forms.

Paleontologists study not only the remains of ancient plants and animals, but also fossils, that is, the bodies or fragments of the bodies of ancient living organisms, in which organic substances have been replaced by mineral salts over time. Paleontology also uses the methods of paleoecology and paleoclimatology to recreate the living conditions under which ancient organisms existed. V Lately paleontology has received a new development due to the fact that the methods of computed tomography, digital microscopy, molecular biology. With the help of these discoveries, it was possible to prove that life on our planet is much older than it seemed before.

Geochronology

For convenience of study and description, the entire history of the Earth is divided into certain periods of time. These intervals differ in duration, mountain building processes, climate, flora and fauna. In the geochronological record, these periods are characterized by different layers of sedimentary rocks with fossil remains preserved in them. The deeper the sedimentary layer lies, the older the fossil in it. The largest divisions of the geological record are eons. There are two eons: cryptozoic, which in Greek means "secret life", and phanerozoic - "manifest life". Eons are divided into eras. There are two eras in the Cryptozoic: the Archean and the Proterozoic. And in the Phanerozoic - three eras: Paleozoic, Mesozoic and Cenozoic. Eras are in turn divided into periods, which may have smaller subdivisions.

The importance of photosynthesis in the development of life on Earth

The appearance of autotrophic organisms on Earth led to gigantic changes in its development. First, the appearance and vital activity of plants led to the formation of free oxygen in the atmosphere of our Earth. The presence of free oxygen changed biochemical processes, which led to the death of many living organisms, for which free oxygen was fatally toxic. But, on the other hand, the presence of free oxygen in the atmosphere allowed living organisms to master the process of respiration, as a result of which, in the form ATP molecules much more energy is stored. Such an energetically more favorable way of breathing allowed living organisms to subsequently master the land. In addition, under the influence of ultraviolet radiation, oxygen was converted into ozone. Thanks to this process, a protective ozone screen was formed, which does not allow hard ultraviolet radiation to reach the Earth. This was another reason why living organisms were able to go to land. In addition, autotrophs themselves have become more high-energy food for heterotrophs. The interaction of autotrophs and heterotrophs, their birth and death led to critical process the emergence of the biological cycle of substances. Thanks to this, the once lifeless shell turned into a biosphere inhabited by living organisms.

Bibliography

Mamontov S.G., Zakharov V.B., Agafonova I.B., Sonin N.I. Biology. General patterns. - M.: Bustard, 2009.
Pasechnik V.V., Kamensky A.A., Kriksunov E.A. Biology. Introduction to general biology and ecology. Textbook for 9 cells. 3rd ed., stereotype. - M.: Bustard, 2002.
Ponomareva I.N., Kornilova O.A., Chernova N.M. Basics general biology. Grade 9: Textbook for students in grade 9. educational institutions/ Ed. prof. I.N. Ponomareva. - 2nd ed., revised. - M.: Ventana-Graf, 2005.

Homework

List the sequence of eras in the development of the Earth.
What era are we living in?
Could our species not have dominated the Earth?
What happened to animals and plants that arose in the Mesozoic?

archaeus- ancient life. It lasted about 900 million years, from 3500 to 2600 million years. Little remains of organic life. Archean rocks contain a lot of graphite, it is believed that graphite was formed from the remains of living organisms. Discovered stromatolites- cone-shaped calcareous formations of biogenic origin. Many reserves of sulfur, iron, copper, nickel, cobalt have a bacterial origin. Archaean living organisms were first represented by anaerobic prokaryotes, later blue-green ones appear. Photosynthesis of blue-greens is the most important aromorphosis of the Archean era. Thanks to their vital activity, the atmosphere is enriched with oxygen.

Proterozoic era.

Proterozoic- the era of primary life. The duration is from 2600 million years to 570 million years, that is, about 2 billion years. The surface of the planet was a bare desert, life developed mainly in the seas. This longest era is characterized by the formation of the largest deposits of iron ores formed due to the activity of bacteria. In the Proterozoic era, fundamental aromorphoses occurred:

In this era, all sections of algae are formed, the thallus of many becomes lamellar. The animals of that time are characterized by the absence of skeletal formations, the end of the Proterozoic is sometimes called "age of jellyfish". Annelids appear, from which mollusks and arthropods originated. The amount of oxygen in the atmosphere has reached 1% of the current level.

Paleozoic- the era of ancient life, the duration of which is from 570 to 230 million years. In this era, significant aromorphoses occur in the plant and animal world, associated both with life in water and with the development of land. It is divided into six periods: Cambrian, Ordovician, Silurian, Devonian, carbon, Permian.

Plants of the Cambrian and Ordovician inhabit the seas, represented by all divisions of algae. In the Silurian period (440 million years ago), in the ebb and flow zone from green plants, the first terrestrial higher plants appear - psilophytes(naked plants) (Fig. 361). The appearance of integumentary, mechanical, conductive tissues were those aromorphoses that helped plants to enter the air. Psilophytes still lack roots, they absorb water and mineral salts with the help of rhizoids. Scales on the stem of psilophytes increased the surface of photosynthesis.

In the Devonian, ferns appear - herbaceous and tree-like horsetails, club mosses, ferns. The appearance of roots and leaves provided sufficient air and mineral nutrition for a variety of ferns. Ferns reproduce by unicellular spores; in moist places, they develop outgrowths that form germ cells. Water is needed for fertilization, an adult plant develops from the zygote.

A warm and humid tropical climate is established in the Carboniferous. Ferns reach gigantic sizes - up to 40 m in height. Carboniferous forests subsequently led to the formation huge deposits coal. At the same time, two most important aromorphoses occur in the Carboniferous, as a result of which higher seed plants appeared: firstly, pollination appears with

with the help of wind, when pollen with male germ cells through the air falls on plant organs containing female germ cells, water is no longer needed for fertilization; secondly, after fertilization, seeds are formed. These plants were seed ferns.

Seed ferns gave rise to the development of gymnosperms. In the Permian period, the climate became arid and colder. Tropical forests remain near the equator, gymnosperms spread to the rest of the territory.

Animals of the Cambrian period are characterized by a variety of trilobites - the oldest arthropods, during this period animals with a mineralized skeleton appear.

In the Ordovician period, the first chordate animals appear, having an internal skeleton, the distant descendants of which are lancelets and cyclostomes - lampreys and hagfishes.

In the Silurian seas, echinoderms and jawless armored "fish" appear, which only superficially resembled real fish and did not have jaws. Capturing and holding large prey with the help of such a mouth was impossible. The first arthropods - scorpions and spiders - come to land.

In the Devonian, insects appeared on land, real fish already swam in the seas - cartilaginous (sharks) and fish with a bone skeleton. As a result of mutations and selection, the third pair of gill arches turned into jaws, with the help of which it was possible to feed on large prey.

The most interesting among bony fish were lungfish and freshwater lobe-finned fish, which had lungs along with gills. Warm water and abundance of vegetation fresh water bodies served as prerequisites for the development of additional respiratory organs, the pharyngeal pockets of lungfish and crossopterans gradually turn into lungs. Freshwater lobe-finned fish also had powerful paired limbs (Fig. 362) and were better adapted to life in shallow coastal waters, and stegocephals (shell-headed amphibians) originated from them (Fig. 363).

In the Carboniferous, winged insects appeared on land, some dragonflies had a wingspan of up to 70 cm. The abundance of arthropods on land caused the appearance a large number various forms of ancient amphibians (up to 6 m in length).

Further development of land led to the appearance of reptiles and was accompanied by a number of aromorphoses: the surface of the lungs increased, dry scaly skin protected from evaporation, internal fertilization and the laying of large eggs allowed embryos to develop on land.

In the Permian period, climate change was accompanied by the disappearance of stegocephalians and the resettlement of reptiles.

Mesozoic era.

Mesozoic- the era of middle life, began 230, ended 67 million years ago. It is divided into three periods: Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous. The vegetation of the first two periods of the Mesozoic era was represented by gymnosperms and ferns, and the extinction of tree-like ferns continued. At the beginning of the Cretaceous period (130 million years ago), the first angiosperms appear. The appearance of a flower and a fruit are large aromorphoses that led to the appearance of angiosperms. With the help of a flower, the process of pollination was facilitated, the ovules located inside the ovary of the pistil were better preserved. The walls of the pericarp protected the seeds and contributed to their spread.

Rice. 364. Archeopteryx.

In the animal world of the Mesozoic era, insects and reptiles reach the greatest distribution. In the Triassic, reptiles return to the water for the second time, plesiosaurs live in shallow water, and ichthyosaurs resembling modern dolphins hunt far from the coast. The first egg-laying mammals appear, unlike reptiles, the high metabolic rate allows them to maintain a constant body temperature.

In the Jurassic period, some herbivorous reptiles reach gigantic sizes, and very large predatory dinosaurs appear - tyrannosaurs, whose body length reached 12 meters. Some reptiles master the airspace - flying lizards (pterosaurs) appear. In the same period, the first birds also appear, Archeopteryx (the size of a dove) retains many signs of reptiles - its jaws have teeth, three fingers protrude from the wing, and the tail consists of a large number of vertebrae (Fig. 364).

At the beginning of the Cretaceous period, the dominance of reptiles on land, in water and in the air remains, some herbivorous reptiles reach a mass of 50 tons. Marsupial and placental mammals appear, the parallel evolution of flowering plants and pollinating insects continues. At the end of the Cretaceous period, the climate becomes cold and arid. The area occupied by vegetation is reduced, giant herbivorous, then predatory dinosaurs die out. At the end of the Mesozoic era, some mammals from the order of insectivores began to lead an arboreal lifestyle, from them at the beginning of the Cenozoic era, ancestral forms of primates appeared.

Cenozoic era.

Cenozoic- the era of new life. It lasts 67 million years and is divided into two unequal periods - Tertiary (Paleogene and Neogene) and Quaternary (Anthropogenic). In the first half of the Tertiary period (in the Paleogene), a warm tropical climate was again established in most of the Earth, in the second half (Neogene), tropical forests were replaced by steppes, and monocotyledonous plants spread. In the Quaternary period, which lasts about 1.5 million years in ice Age Eurasia and North America have been glaciated four times.

As a result of steppe formation, which took place in the second half of the Tertiary period, some of the primates were forced to descend to the ground and adapt to life in open spaces. These were the ancestral forms of humans - hominids, upright primates. The other part remained to live in the rainforests and became the ancestors of the great apes - pongid. At the end of the Tertiary period, ape-men appear from hominids, pithecanthropes.

In the Quaternary period, the cold climate led to a decrease in the level of the world ocean by 60 - 90 m, glaciers formed and descended to the south, the ice thickness of which reached tens of meters, the water evaporated, but did not have time to melt. Land bridges were formed between Asia and North America, between Europe and the British Isles. Through these land bridges, animals migrated from continent to continent. About 40 thousand years ago, along the Bering Bridge, ancient people left Asia for North America. As a result of a cold snap and the appearance of a man who hunted animals, many large animals disappear: saber-toothed tigers, mammoths, woolly rhinos. Near the sites of ancient people, the remains of many dozens of mammoths and other large animals are found. In connection with the extermination of large animals 10 - 12 thousand years ago, man was forced to move from gathering and hunting to agriculture and cattle breeding.

The development of life on Earth - the concept and types. Classification and features of the category "Development of life on Earth" 2017, 2018.

Most modern scientists believe that the Earth was formed a little earlier than 4.5 billion years ago. Life on it arose relatively quickly. The earliest remains of extinct microorganisms have been found in silica deposits dating back to 3.8 billion years (see Life and Its Origins).

The first inhabitants of the Earth were prokaryotes - organisms without a formed nucleus, similar to modern bacteria. They were anaerobes, that is, they did not use free oxygen for respiration, which was not yet in the atmosphere. Their source of food was organic compounds, which arose on the lifeless Earth as a result of the action of ultraviolet solar radiation, lightning discharges and the heat of volcanic eruptions. Another source of energy for them was reduced inorganic substances (sulfur, hydrogen sulfide, iron, etc.). Photosynthesis also arose relatively early. Bacteria were also the first photosynthetics, but they used not water, but hydrogen sulfide or organic substances as a source of hydrogen ions (protons). Life then was represented by a thin bacterial film at the bottom of reservoirs and in wet places on land. This era of the development of life is called Archean, the most ancient (from the Greek word ἀρχαῖος - ancient).

An important evolutionary event occurred at the end of the Archean. About 3.2 billion years ago, one of the groups of prokaryotes - cyanobacteria developed a modern, oxygenic mechanism of photosynthesis with the splitting of water under the action of light. The resulting hydrogen combined with carbon dioxide, and carbohydrates were obtained, and free oxygen entered the atmosphere. The Earth's atmosphere gradually became oxygenic, oxidizing. (It is possible that a significant part of the oxygen could have been released from the rocks when the metal core of the Earth was formed.)

All this had important consequences for life. Oxygen in upper layers atmosphere under the influence of ultraviolet rays turned into ozone. The ozone shield reliably protected the Earth's surface from the harsh solar radiation. The emergence of oxygen respiration, which is energetically more favorable than fermentation, glycolysis, and, consequently, the emergence of larger and more complex eukaryotic cells, became possible. First unicellular, and then multicellular organisms arose. Oxygen also played a negative role - all mechanisms of atmospheric nitrogen binding are suppressed by it. Therefore, atmospheric nitrogen is still bound by bacteria - anaerobes and cyanobacteria. The life of all other organisms on Earth, which arose later, already in an oxygen atmosphere, practically depends on them.

Cyanobacteria, along with bacteria, were widespread on the surface of the Earth at the end of the Archean and the subsequent era - the Proterozoic, the era of primary life (from the Greek words πρότερος - earlier and ζωή - life). The deposits formed by them are known - stromatolites (“carpet stones”). These ancient photosynthetics used soluble calcium bicarbonate as a source of carbon dioxide. At the same time, insoluble carbonate settled on the colony with a calcareous crust. Stromatolites in many places form whole mountains, but the remains of microorganisms are preserved only in some of them.

Somewhat later, cyanobacteria, the ancestors of chloroplasts, became symbionts of some of the first eukaryotes. The remains of the first undoubted eukaryotes - protozoa and colonial algae - were found in the deposits of the Proterozoic era. They look like Volvox.

In the next, Devonian period (from the name of the county in Great Britain), which lasted about 60 million years, various ferns replaced psilophytes, and fish, in which the anterior pair of gill arches turned into jaws, were jawless. In the Devonian, the main groups of fish already appeared - cartilaginous, ray-finned and lobe-finned. Some of the latter came to land at the end of the Devonian, giving rise to a large group of amphibians.

Cenozoic begins with the Tertiary period. The early Tertiary, or Paleogene, period includes the epochs: Paleocene, Eocene and Oligocene, which lasted 40 million years. At this time, all living orders of mammals and birds arose. New life reached its peak at the beginning of the Neogene period, during the Miocene epoch, which began 25 million years ago. At the same time, the first great apes appeared. A severe cooling at the end of the next epoch, the Pliocene, led to the extinction of heat-loving flora and fauna in large areas of Eurasia and North America. About 2 million years ago, the last period of the Earth's history begins - the Quaternary. This is the period of the formation of man, so it is often called an anthropogen.

Life on Earth originated over 3.5 billion years ago, immediately after the completion of the formation earth's crust. Throughout time, the emergence and development of living organisms influenced the formation of relief and climate. Also, tectonic and climatic changes that have taken place over the years have influenced the development of life on Earth.

A table of the development of life on Earth can be compiled based on the chronology of events. The entire history of the Earth can be divided into certain stages. The largest of them are the eras of life. They are divided into eras, eras - into -for epochs, epochs - for centuries.

Ages of life on earth

The entire period of the existence of life on Earth can be divided into 2 periods: the Precambrian, or Cryptozoic (primary period, 3.6 to 0.6 billion years), and Phanerozoic.

Cryptozoic includes the Archean (ancient life) and Proterozoic (primary life) eras.

Phanerozoic includes the Paleozoic (ancient life), Mesozoic (middle life) and Cenozoic (new life) eras.

These 2 periods of development of life are usually divided into smaller ones - eras. The boundaries between eras are global evolutionary events, extinctions. In turn, eras are divided into periods, periods - into epochs. The history of the development of life on Earth is directly related to changes in the earth's crust and the planet's climate.

Era of development, countdown

It is customary to single out the most significant events in special time intervals - eras. Time is counted backwards from ancient life to a new one. There are 5 eras:

Archean.
Proterozoic.
Paleozoic.
Mesozoic.
Cenozoic.

Periods of development of life on Earth

The Paleozoic, Mesozoic and Cenozoic eras include periods of development. These are smaller periods of time, compared to eras.

Palaeozoic:

Cambrian (Cambrian).
Ordovician.
Silurian (Silur).
Devonian (Devonian).
Carboniferous (carbon).
Perm (Perm).

Mesozoic era:

Triassic (Triassic).
Jura (Jurassic).
Cretaceous (chalk).

Cenozoic era:

Lower Tertiary (Paleogene).
Upper Tertiary (Neogene).
Quaternary, or anthropogen (human development).

The first 2 periods are included in the Tertiary period lasting 59 million years.

Table of the development of life on Earth

era, period	Duration	Nature	Inanimate nature, climate
Archean era (ancient life)	3.5 billion years	The appearance of blue-green algae, photosynthesis. Heterotrophs	The predominance of land over the ocean, minimal amount oxygen in the atmosphere.
Proterozoic era (early life)	2.7 Ga	The appearance of worms, mollusks, the first chordates, soil formation.	The land is a stone desert. Accumulation of oxygen in the atmosphere.
The Paleozoic era includes 6 periods:
1. Cambrian (Cambrian)	535-490 Ma	development of living organisms.	Hot climate. The dry land is deserted.
2. Ordovician	490-443 Ma	The emergence of vertebrates.	Flooding of almost all platforms with water.
3. Silurian (Silur)	443-418 Ma	Exit of plants to land. Development of corals, trilobites.	with the formation of mountains. The seas prevail over the land. The climate is varied.
4. Devonian (Devonian)	418-360 Ma	The appearance of fungi, lobe-finned fish.	Formation of intermountain depressions. The predominance of a dry climate.
5. Carboniferous (carbon)	360-295 Ma	Appearance of the first amphibians.	The sinking of the continents with the flooding of territories and the emergence of swamps. The atmosphere contains a lot of oxygen and carbon dioxide.
6. Perm (Perm)	295-251 Ma	Extinction of trilobites and most amphibians. The beginning of the development of reptiles and insects.	Volcanic activity. Hot climate.
The Mesozoic era includes 3 periods:
1. Triassic (Triassic)	251-200 Ma	Gymnosperm development. The first mammals and bony fishes.	Volcanic activity. Warm and sharply continental climate.
2. Jurassic (Jurassic)	200-145 Ma	The emergence of angiosperms. The spread of reptiles, the appearance of the first bird.	Mild and warm climate.
3. Cretaceous (chalk)	145-60 Ma	The appearance of birds, higher mammals.	Warm climate followed by cooling.
The Cenozoic era includes 3 periods:
1. Lower Tertiary (Paleogene)	65-23 Ma	The flowering of angiosperms. The development of insects, the appearance of lemurs and primates.	Mild climate with the allocation of climatic zones.
2. Upper Tertiary (Neogene)	23-1.8 Ma	The emergence of ancient people.	Dry climate.
3. Quaternary or anthropogen (human development)	1.8-0 Ma	The appearance of man.	Cooling.

The development of living organisms

The table of the development of life on Earth involves the division not only into time intervals, but also into certain stages of the formation of living organisms, possible climatic changes (ice age, global warming).

Archean era. The most significant changes in the evolution of living organisms are the appearance of blue-green algae - prokaryotes capable of reproduction and photosynthesis, the emergence of multicellular organisms. The appearance of living protein substances (heterotrophs) capable of absorbing those dissolved in water organic matter. In the future, the appearance of these living organisms made it possible to divide the world into flora and fauna.

Mesozoic era.

Triassic. Distribution of plants (gymnosperms). An increase in the number of reptiles. The first mammals, bony fish.
Jurassic period. The predominance of gymnosperms, the emergence of angiosperms. The appearance of the first bird, the flowering of cephalopods.
Cretaceous period. Spread of angiosperms, reduction of other plant species. The development of bony fish, mammals and birds.

Cenozoic era.
- Lower Tertiary period (Paleogene). The flowering of angiosperms. The development of insects and mammals, the appearance of lemurs, later primates.
- Upper Tertiary period (Neogene). The development of modern plants. The appearance of human ancestors.
- Quaternary period (anthropogen). Formation of modern plants, animals. The appearance of man.

Development of conditions inanimate nature, climate change

The table of the development of life on Earth cannot be presented without data on changes in inanimate nature. The emergence and development of life on Earth, new species of plants and animals, all this is accompanied by changes in inanimate nature and climate.

Climate Change: Archean Era

The history of the development of life on Earth began through the stage of the predominance of land over water resources. The relief was poorly outlined. The atmosphere is dominated carbon dioxide, the amount of oxygen is minimal. Salinity is low in shallow water.

The Archean era is characterized by volcanic eruptions, lightning, black clouds. The rocks are rich in graphite.

Climatic changes during the Proterozoic era

Land is a stone desert, all living organisms live in water. Oxygen accumulates in the atmosphere.

Climate change: the Paleozoic era

During various periods of the Paleozoic era, the following occurred:

Cambrian period. The land is still deserted. The climate is hot.
Ordovician period. The most significant changes are the flooding of almost all northern platforms.
Silurian. Tectonic changes, the conditions of inanimate nature are diverse. Mountain building occurs, the seas prevail over the land. Regions of different climates, including areas of cooling, were determined.
Devonian. Dry climate prevails, continental. Formation of intermountain depressions.
Carboniferous period. The sinking of the continents, wetlands. The climate is warm and humid, with a lot of oxygen and carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
Permian period. Hot climate, volcanic activity, mountain building, drying up of swamps.

In the Paleozoic era, mountains formed. Such changes in the relief affected the world's oceans - the sea basins were reduced, a significant land area was formed.

The Paleozoic era marked the beginning of almost all major deposits of oil and coal.

Climatic changes in the Mesozoic

The climate of different periods of the Mesozoic is characterized by the following features:

Triassic. Volcanic activity, the climate is sharply continental, warm.
Jurassic period. Mild and warm climate. The seas prevail over the land.
Cretaceous period. Retreat of the seas from the land. The climate is warm, but at the end of the period, global warming is replaced by cooling.

In the Mesozoic era, the previously formed mountain systems are destroyed, the plains go under water (Western Siberia). In the second half of the era, the Cordillera, mountains Eastern Siberia, Indochina, partly Tibet, mountains of Mesozoic folding formed. A hot and humid climate prevails, contributing to the formation of swamps and peat bogs.

Climate change - Cenozoic era

In the Cenozoic era, there was a general uplift of the Earth's surface. The climate has changed. Numerous glaciations of the earth covers advancing from the north have changed the appearance of the continents of the Northern Hemisphere. Due to such changes, hilly plains were formed.

Lower Tertiary period. Mild climate. Division into 3 climatic zones. Formation of continents.
Upper Tertiary period. Dry climate. The emergence of steppes, savannahs.
Quaternary period. Multiple glaciation of the northern hemisphere. Climate cooling.

All changes during the development of life on Earth can be written in the form of a table that will reflect the most significant stages in the formation and development modern world. Despite the already known methods of research, and now scientists continue to study history, make new discoveries that allow modern society learn how life developed on Earth before the appearance of man.