| PERIOD | EPOCH | LASTED FOR | BEGAN | COMMENTS |
| QUATERNARY | Holocene Pleistocene |
about 2 million years | 2 million years ago | Ice age begins Ice age ends |
| TERTIARY | Pleiocene Miocene Oligocene Eocene Paleocene |
about 5 million years 19 million years 12 million years 16 milion years 10 million years |
65 million years ago |
First humans (Pleiocene) Rise of many modern mammals (Oligocene) Formation of Alps and Himalayas (Eocene) Many mammals (Palaeocene) Dinosaurs become extinct (end of Cretaceous) |
| CRETACEOUS | 71 million years | 136 million years ago | Small mammals | |
| JURASSIC | about 57 million years | 192 million years ago | Age of dinosaurs Toothed birds |
|
| TRIASSIC | about 33 million years | 225 million years ago | First primitive mammals | |
| PERMIAN | 55 million years | 280 million years ago | Spread of reptiles and insects | |
| CARBONIFEROUS | 65 million years | 345 million years ago | Rise of reptiles First fish and flying insects |
|
| DEVONIAN | about 65 million years | 410 million years ago | Amphibians evolved from fishes Great explosion of plant life Bony fishes, first insects. |
|
| SILURIAN | about 30 million years | 440 million years ago | Armoured jawless fishes | |
| ORDOVICIAN | about 90 million years | 530 million years ago | First land plants Molluscs |
|
| CAMBRIAN | about 40 million years | 570 million years ago | Algae | |
| PRECAMBRIAN | about 4000 million years | about 4600 million years ago | First living organisms (3500-4000 million years ago) |