Life on Earth
PublicFormation of the Earth
The Earth forms from a cloud of gas and dust around the young sun.
Emergence of the first life
The first simple, self-replicating cells arise in the oceans.
The Great Oxidation
Photosynthesizing cyanobacteria fill the atmosphere with oxygen.
Rise of eukaryotic cells
More complex cells with a nucleus and organelles emerge.
The Cambrian explosion
A massive diversification of multicellular life takes place in the oceans.
Life conquers the land
Plants and later animals make the transition from water to land.
Age of the dinosaurs
Dinosaurs dominate life on land on Earth for millions of years.
Rise of the first birds
In the Jurassic period, the first true birds develop from small, feathered dinosaurs.
Flourishing of the flowering plants
The first flowering plants (angiosperms) appear and drastically change the ecosystems on earth.
reign of the great predatory dinosaurs
Mighty predators such as Tyrannosaurus rex dominate the food chains in the late Cretaceous.
Mass extinction and the rise of mammals
An asteroid impact ends the age of the dinosaurs.
Rise of the first primates
Small, tree-dwelling primates spread across the earth after the dinosaurs.
Split of great apes and gibbons
The ancestors of the great apes split off from other ape species.
Rise of the first hominids
The first bipedal hominids appear in Africa.
Rise of humankind
The first members of the genus Homo appear in Africa.
The future of life on Earth
Climate change, technology and cosmic processes will determine the future of life.
Emergence of the first life
In warm, mineral-rich environments such as hydrothermal vents, the first organic molecules capable of reproducing likely arose. These prokaryotic cells form the basis of all later life on Earth. Fossil traces such as stromatolites point to microbial life during this period.