Matt McVicar (mm4819) and Stephen Reid (sr8243)

Timeline of the evolution of life on Earth

Biological events Physical events

(not to scale)

~4500 Mya
Formation of the Earth
Earth forms by accretion disc revolving around the
sun.
Moon stabilises the Earth’s gravitational axis
The moon is formed. One possible explanation is that
Between 4500 and 2500 Mya
Earth and the planet Theia collide, blasting a large
RNA, which can both store information and act as an amount of debris into the earth's orbit.
enzyme, may have supported the first pre-cellular life.
Eventually DNA takes over the data storage role due
to its greater chemical stability, whilst proteins take
over catalytic function due to the variety of amino
acids providing greater flexibility in catalysis. DNA 4100 Mya
soon develops inside enclosing protective mem- Crust solidification
branes, which provide a stable environment for their The surface of the earth cools sufficiently for the crust
to form.

3900 Mya
3900 - 2500 Mya Late heavy bombardment
Prokaryotic life The Earth is heavily bombarded by meteors. It is
Prokaryotes (single-cellular organisms with no nu- unlikely that any life present on the Earth survived
cleus) first appear. They can obtain energy from inor- this turbulent period, as the oceans boiled away com-
ganic substances (promoting survival in harsh envi- pletely. It is also possible that new life was brought to
ronments) and later use glycolysis to generate ATP, Earth during this period.
which is still used in almost all organisms to this day.

3500 Mya
Last common ancestor
The last common ancestor of all life currently on
the planet. The earliest bacterial, anoxygenic
photosynthetic systems appear, using hydrogen
and sulphur as electron donors.

3000 Mya
Oxygen from photosynthesis
Photosynthesizing cyanobacteria use water
as a reducing agent, producing oxygen as a
waste product. The oxygen subsequently
poisons many existing lifeforms.

2100 Mya
Eukaryotic life
Eukaryotic cells appear featuring a nu-
cleus, membrane and membrane-bound
organelles such as mitochondria. They
may have developed from the phagocy-
tosis of prokaryotes.

1200 Mya
Sexual reproduction
Some unicellular life starts practicing sexual reproduc-
tion, allowing populations to respond more rapidly to
a changing environment.
Multicellular life
First evidence of multicellular life. For the moment,
these remain complex bundles of single cell colonies.

850 - 630 Mya

Snowball Earth
The most severe ice age of the last billion years sees
ice cover the entire planet, possibly reducing the di-
versity of life. The period is ended by the accumula-
tion of greenhouse gases produced by volcanoes.

580 Mya
First lifeforms to possess nerves, muscles and a body

580 - 542 Mya

Ediacara biota
The first complex multicellular life evolves soon after the thaw-
ing of the glaciers in the form of the Ediacara biota. Their
strange form and apparent disconnectedness from later organ-
isms suggests a 'failed experiment' in multicellular life, with
later multicellular life independently re-evolving from unrelated
single-celled organisms.
550 Mya
Flatworms are the earliest animals to possess a brain
580 - 500 Mya
Cambrian Explosion
Evolution accelerates by an order of magnitude
(as measured in terms of the extinction and origi-
nation rate of species) with the appearance of
diverse life, including modern land animals. Possi-
ble explanations include an increase in oxygen
concentration or an arms race between predator
and prey.

540 Mya
Acorn worms have a circulatory system with a heart that
also functions as a kidney
Oxygen accumulates in the atmosphere leading to the for-
mation of the ozone layer. This acts as a shield from the
sun's damaging ultraviolet radiation and allows complex life

505 Mya
The first vertebrates appear in the form of jawless fish

475 Mya
Primitive plants are move onto
land, having evolved from
green algae living on the edge 450 Mya
of lakes Ordovician–Silurian extinction

364 Mya
Late Devonian extinction
363 Mya
Carboniferous period
Insects and arachnids roam the land, including Basal Dictyop-
tera relative of cockroaches. The dominant fish present were
Elasmobranchs (sharks and their relatives). The most common
plant life at this time were ferns, vines, and scale trees. Earth is
now recognisable to a human.

315 Mya
Some freshwater fish develop rudimentary
limbs and lungs marking the start of amphibi-
ans. At this stage, the limbs were probably only
used for crawling through mud.

300 Mya
From amphibians come the first reptiles, with the ability
to reproduce and lay eggs on dry land. Compared to am-
phibians reptiles have an advanced nervous system featur-
ing 12 pairs of cranial nerves.
230 Mya
Dinosaurs
Gymnosperm forests dominate the land; herbivores de-
velop huge digestive organs necessary for processing the
nutrient-poor plants. These were the first examples of
dinosaurs.
251 Mya
Permian–Triassic extinction
The Earth's most severe extinction wipes out up to 96%
of marine life and 70% of terrestrial vertebrates. Sug-
gested causes range from impact events to increased
volcanism to a shift in ocean currents driven by climate
change. Those species which survive tend to have con-
trol over circulation and advanced gas exchange mecha-
nisms.

220 Mya
The first mammals evolve from reptiles, with a con-
stant body temperature, milk glands for their young
and a neocortex region of the brain.

200 Mya
Triassic–Jurassic extinction
200 Mya
First evidence of viruses

130 Mya
First examples of flowering plants
Angiosperms produce pollen which attract
insects and other animals, driving a period
of co-evolution through symbiosis.

65 Mya
Cretaceous-Tertiary extinction
The extinction of approximately 50% of
all life, including all dinosaurs except
modern birds.

35 Mya
Evolution of grasses
Grasses evolve from the angiosperms and
proceed to dominates much of the land-
scape.

Modern era
Modern era
Holocene extinction
Modern man
Megafaunal extinction in the Americas results in fierce
Humans make a significant effect on the planet's
debate regarding the influence of man on these habi-
ecoystems and climate. In the 1980's, man’s ecological
tats.
footprint outstrips the Earth's biocapacity.