| | (Ice Age) |the modern type. First | millions
| | |record of man occurs in| of
| | |the early Pleistocene. | years.
Era of +---------------+--------------+-----------------------+
Recent | | Pliocene | THE AGE OF MAMMALS |
Life | _Tertiary_ | Miocene |Rise and development of|
| | Oligocene |the highest orders of |
| | Eocene |plants and animals. |
---------+---------------+--------------+-----------------------+----------
| _Cretaceous_ | | THE AGE OF REPTILES |
MESOZOIC | _Jurassic_ | |Shellfish with complex |
| _Triassic_ | |shells. Enormous land |
| | |reptiles. Flying | 16
| | |reptiles and the | millions
| | |evolution therefrom of | of
| | |birds. First palms. | years.
| | |First hardwood trees. |
| | | First mammals. |
Era of +---------------+--------------+-----------------------+
Intermediate | | THE AGE OF AMPHIBIANS.|
Life | | | THE COAL AGE |
|_Carboniferous_| Permian |Sharks and sea animals |
| | |with nautilus-like |
| |Pennsylvanian |shells. Evolution of |
| | |land plants in many |
| |Mississippian |complex forms. First |
| | |appearance of land |
| | |vertebrates. First |
| | |flowering plants. |
| | |First cone-bearing |
| | |trees. Club mosses and |
| | |ferns highly developed.|
---------+---------------+--------------+-----------------------+----------
| | | THE AGE OF FISHES |
| _Devonian_ | |Evolution of many |
| | |forms. Fish of great |
|