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The toad species Alytidae appears in Europe, which will dominate the continent for the next 100 million years, overcoming every catastrophe.

The gene for epsilon and gamma globin, two of the eight human globins, is formed.

The southern part of Africa (the last 1600 km) is starting to rise; in 100 million years it will rise by 1.5 km, without any apparent tectonic activity.

The Indonesian plate is starting to sink, dragging Northern Australia with it. In 100 million years, it will sink 200 meters.

Insects are among the dominant species on the planet

Approximate estimated time of appearance of Saturn’s rings.

Titanosaurs (family Saurischia)

The first flowers (angiosperms) appear, which exploit another successful living species: insects.

First species of angiosperm plants, that is, with flowers and seeds all in one

Cretaceous (Mesozoic period, Secondary era)

Archaeopteryx, the first birds

The first snakes appear

The first bees evolve. But honeybees, or Apis, do not appear for another 125 million years.

Second peak of dinosaur diversification

The first species of ants: similar to today’s, they spread along with flowering plants. They quickly multiplied. Today, it is estimated that there are about 10 trillion ants on the planet, and they weigh slightly more than the combined weight of all human beings.

Toarcian turnover extinction due to ocean acidification. This is not one of the six major mass extinctions, but it is still a significant event.

Diplodocus (family Saurischia)

First species of insects with wings

Jurassic (Mesozoic period, Secondary era): the first forms of birds appear

First peak of dinosaur diversification

The Fourth Mass Extinction occurred at the end of the Triassic, 200 million years ago, with the extinction of 80% of species. The Third Mass Extinction occurred at the end of the Permian, 251 million years ago, when 96% of species became extinct. The Second

Crocodiles are among the dominant species in swamps

Volcanoes rise in the mid-Atlantic

Sharks are among the dominant species in the seas and oceans

First Pterosaurs (flying reptiles); the oldest finds were found in Cene – Val Seriana, near Bergamo

Dinosaurs rule the planet

The Sun begins its current, nearly circular, orbit around the Milky Way

First Therapsids, reptile ancestors of mammals

80 species of ichthyosaurs thrive in the oceans

First woody plants: first trees (Cycadaceae family)

Plesiosaurs rule the seas

Large (95%) mass extinction of living species (Permian/Triassic, early Mesozoic)

Meteorite falls in Bedout crater in northwestern Australia, 190km in diameter

Triassic (Mesozoic period, Secondary era): reptiles dominate the planet and the first mammals appear

massive release of CO2, likely due to extreme volcanism in the Siberian Traps, raised the planet’s temperature by an average of 10°C and acidified the oceans. In just 100,000 to 200,000 years, 90% of species were completely wiped out. The warming oceans favored bacteria that

violent volcanic eruption: the Siberian Traps gave rise to what is now Siberia. Coal deposits ignite. The eruption and devastation continue for 900,000 years. The impact on life is tremendous: it will be another 25 million years before coal and diversification are found again. In

Glaciation

Last common ancestor between humans and birds

Odonata, which includes dragonflies, were the first order of insects to acquire wings. It was a successful form. Dragonflies still have virtually the same shape as they did back then. In the Carboniferous, they were just larger: up to 75 cm in wingspan (Meganeura monyi).

First reptiles

First seeded plants (Gymnosperms)

Ammonites thrive in the seas

Carboniferous (Paleozoic period, Primary era)

First terrestrial amphibians

The Second Extinction occurred during the Late Devonian, 375 million years ago, when 75% of living species became extinct. The First Extinction occurred 444 million years ago, a mass extinction (80-90%) of living species, at the end of the Ordovician. The Third Extinction occurred at

In the Devonian and Carboniferous periods, the oxygen level in the atmosphere was as high as 35% (today it is 20%), allowing animals to grow to large sizes in a short time.

Devonian (Paleozoic period, Primary era)

Glaciation

Silurian (Paleozoic period, Primary era)

First species of spiders

First insect species (without wings: millipedes and spiders are among the first)

Mass extinction (80-90%) of living species. This is the End-Ordovician Extinction, the First Mass Extinction. The Second Extinction is the Late Devonian, 375 million years ago, when 75% of living species became extinct. The Third is the End-Permian, 251 million years ago, when 96% of

The massive emission of oxygen by plants dramatically increases the element’s presence in Earth’s atmosphere. The number of minerals and compounds on Earth expands from 250 to 1,500 due to the turbulence of plate tectonics, and then to about 4,500 thanks to oxygen compounds (such

First plants on land

The jawless fish Eriptychius americanus already has an articulated skull. It was discovered in Colorado’s Harding Sandstone Formation in 2023 AD and is the oldest 3D fossil evidence of the cranial anatomy of a primitive vertebrate, according to a study in the journal Nature. The

double asteroid strikes the paleocontinent Baltic (which at the time was near South Africa). It hits what is now Sweden, above Stockholm. At the time, the area is 500 meters below sea level. The impact creates a crater 7.5 kilometers across and another 700 meters

Earth may have had rings for a period of 20-40 million years, approximately 460-480 million years ago. This would at least explain a number of factors, including an increase in meteorite impacts, all in an equatorial belt, and an episode of drastic temperature drops, or

Ordovician (Paleozoic period, Primary era): plants begin to invade the land

First corals: they are among the oldest life forms (or better yet, ecosystems) on Earth.

First cephalopods (ammonites, nautiluses, squid, octopuses, cuttlefish); the term ammonite derives from the Egyptian god Amun, whose horns resemble the ammonite’s spiral. These were the first cephalopods, from which octopuses would soon evolve. Studies highlighted and conducted by Peter Godfrey Smith point to a complex

The worm Pikaia Gracilens is the first known creature with a backbone, making it a candidate for the ancestor of every vertebrate (including us).

Mass extinction of living species

In what is now Yoho National Park, a submarine landslide is forming, covering the future fossils of the Burgess Shale: specimens of soft-bodied organisms preserved in astonishing detail. These are ancient representatives of all four major groups of arthropods, the dominant animals on Earth: trilobites,

The Tardigrade family appears. They were discovered in 1773 by the pastor Johann August Ephraim Goeze. Over 1,150 species have since been discovered. They are microscopic animals with segmented bodies and eight legs. They are extremophiles: they can live in extreme environmental conditions, such as

Earth’s fourth eon: Phanerozoic (indicates life forms visible to the naked eye). Pangea fragments into the current continents. An explosion of living species occurs: archaea, bacteria, protists, chromists, fungi, animals and plants, viruses (an outsider…), and finally, at the pinnacle of evolution: cats (and us

Cambrian (Paleozoic period, Primary era)

A period called Nama by biologist Ben Waggoner. A profusion of small tunnels can be seen in the mud on the seafloor. This period is also called Wormworld. An example is Cloudina.

Presumed first appearance of the sense of sight in the terrestrial animal world.

Scientists still debate the causes of the Cambrian explosion, but the most widely accepted theory is that oxygen in Earth’s atmosphere began slowly increasing around 550 million years ago. Oxygen provided a much more efficient way to metabolize food, giving animals more energy to mobilize

period called the White Sea by biologist Ben Waggoner. The animals on the seabed are still without fins or legs, but there is evidence that they could move, even though their habitat is still two-dimensional: the seabed. Examples include the following species: Kinderella, Helminthoidichnites, and

Thousands of species of trilobites thrive on the ocean floor: they are the first invertebrates with an exoskeleton

Vendian Glaciation

First invertebrate life forms with shells (early Paleozoic)

Earth’s magnetic field nearly collapsed completely 591 million years ago, and this change, paradoxically, may have played a key role in the emergence of complex life, new research has found. The study, published in the journal Communications Earth & Environment on May 2, 2024, found

Last common ancestor between cephalopods and Homo sapiens. Studies highlighted and conducted by Peter Godfrey Smith point to a complex intelligence in the modern octopus, and likely even self-awareness. This poses a dilemma: either self-awareness evolved independently at least two or three times (us, octopuses,

Ancient origin of the eyes: jellyfish already have a light-sensing organ. It’s a nervous organ under the umbrella, with light-sensitive cells that enable contractions and movement.

A period called Avalon by biologist Ben Waggoner. It is characterized by flat, two-dimensional life forms on the seafloor.

Cryogenian Glaciation

Trezona Formation, Australia. First fossil evidence of organisms that may be the first animals: a type of sea sponge.

The oceans are starting to dry up: the water released into the atmosphere by volcanoes in the form of water vapor is no longer equal to the water seeping into the subsurface and the mantle, especially through continental faults: the planet is cooling due to