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Changing Ecosystems and Continental Drift Timeline

250 mya

250 Million Years Ago

The super-continent, Pangea, began to break apart during the Triassic period, as a result of Earth's internal heat. It initially split into two continents, Gondwanaland (containing Africa, India, South America, Antarctica and Australia) and Laurasia (containing Eurasia and North America). During this time a mass extinction took place, wiping out 95% of all species on Earth. This event is thought to be caused by volcanic activity, warming of the Earth's climate and changes in the ocean.

230 mya

230 Million Years Ago

The first dinosaurs began to appear late in the Triassic period, one of the earliest species being Coelophysis, a small, ground-dwelling carnivore that could grow up to 3m long. Paleontoligists have used fossils preserved in ancient rock to discover how dinosaurs from millions of years ago ate, behaved, and more.

150 mya

150 Million Years Ago

During this time the Gondwana landmass (India, Africa, Antarctica, South America and Australia) began to break up into the modern continents we know today. Placental mammals and marsupials also appeared around this time. According to Springer's research, the oldest placental mammals arose in Africa, including elephants, aardvarks, manatees and hyraxes.

65 mya

65 Million Years Ago

Another mass extinction took place during this period, wiping out 50% of plants and animals, including the dinosaurs. This extinction was largely attributed to an asteroid collision, which caused massive tidal waves, debris in the atmosphere and fires, along with the obvious impact of a 10-15km wide asteroid colliding with the Earth, which sent out a massive heat wave and blast wave and left behind a crater 150km wide.

55 mya

55 Million Years Ago

The earliest primates, according to the fossil records, were believed to have appeared around 55 million years ago. They were found in Africa, North America, Europe and Asia during the Eocene Epoch. The Indian plate also began to collide with Asia in this period, causing the Himalayas to form.

25 mya

25 Million Years Ago

Zealandia, which was mostly under water, was beginning to split apart at this time. It lay between the Pacific and Australian plates, and at the plate boundry, part of Zealandia was pushed up above water, creating New Zealand. 94% of Zealandia remains underwater today.

5 mya

5 Million Years Ago

5 million years ago, the first human like life forms appeared when Australopithecines in Africa began to walk on 2 legs. Over the next 3 million years, species with other human features emerged, including larger brains, the use of stones as tools and stronger jaws.

300,000 years ago

300,000 Years Ago

It was around this time that Homo sapians (modern humans) began to appear in Africa. From here humans were able to evolve into what they are today. A couple of evolutionary milestones that took place over the next thousands of years include:

  • Migrating out of Africa to other continents 70,000 - 100,000 years ago.
  • Gaining the ability to communicate via speech 50,000 years ago

Map of migration of 3 different species

Bibliography

https://www.education.vic.gov.au/school/teachers/teachingresources/discipline/science/continuum/Pages/geological.aspx

https://www.livescience.com/38218-facts-about-pangaea.html

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WaUk94AdXPA

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/triassic

https://www.amnh.org/dinosaurs/dinosaur-facts

https://samnoblemuseum.ou.edu/understanding-extinction/mass-extinctions/end-permian-extinction/#:~:text=What%20caused%20the%20extinction%3F,a%20huge%20outpouring%20of%20lava.

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/rise-mammals#:~:text=The%20oldest%20group%20of%20living,aardvarks%2C%20manatees%2C%20and%20hyraxes

https://youtu.be/u_JZObDetfQ.

https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/how-an-asteroid-caused-extinction-of-dinosaurs.html

https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/world-history/world-history-beginnings/origin-humans-early-societies/a/where-did-humans-come-from

https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn9989-timeline-human-evolution/

https://www.newscientist.com/question/humans-evolve-apes/

https://teara.govt.nz/en/geology-overview#:~:text=About%2025%20million%20years%20ago,land%20area%20of%20New%20Zealand.

https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn17453-timeline-the-evolution-of-life/

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