Timeline of Prehistoric Creatures

Understanding the prehistoric timeline helps grasp the diversity of life on Earth.

1. Cambrian Period (541-485.4 million years ago): Explosion of marine life, including trilobites and brachiopods.
2. Ordovician Period (485.4-443.8 million years ago): Evolution of early fish and the first land plants.
3. Silurian Period (443.8-419.2 million years ago): Further development of marine life, including jawed fish.
4. Devonian Period (419.2-358.9 million years ago): Rise of land plants and the first forests; early tetrapods emerge.
5. Carboniferous Period (358.9-298.9 million years ago): Dominance of coal-forming swamp forests, giant insects, and amphibians.
6. Permian Period (298.9-251.9 million years ago): Diversification of reptiles; the first true mammals appear.
7. Triassic Period (251.9-200.9 million years ago): Dinosaurs evolve and diversify, but many species go extinct at the end of this period.
8. Jurassic Period (200.9-145 million years ago): Dominance of dinosaurs; first birds appear.
9. Cretaceous Period (145-66 million years ago): Cenomanian-Turonian boundary event leads to the extinction of many species, including non-avian dinosaurs.

Pro tip: The Permian-Triassic extinction event was one of the largest mass extinctions in Earth's history and reshaped life on our planet.