Phanerozoic Eon
Phanerozoic Eon
This eon covers hundreds of millions years, including dramatic developments in the animal kingdom,
Learning Outcome: Provide the approximate time span, geologic changes, and representative organisms of the Phanerozoic Eon, including the Paleozoic, Mesozoic, and Cenozoic Eras.
The Precambrian Supereon ended with a variety of oceanic organisms: bacteria, complex single-celled eukaryotes, and multicellular organisms including the first animals.
That leaves a lot of life to come in the Phanerozoic Eon, including the move to land and origin of the vertebrates.
Phanaerozoic Eon
Watch this video; you can select the closed captioning “cc” option if you would like to see the text.
This video introduces Brachiopods and the sources of data for the figure below.
Assuming that the specimens recorded in fossil sheet #1 are older (deeper in the rock strata) than those from fossil sheet #2, hypothesize how the variation in the widths of the Brachiopods of fossil sheet #1 led to the widths observed in fossil sheet #2.
The next section features dinosaurs that ruled the land during the Mesozoic Era.
Check your knowledge – Phanerozoic
Review your notes. Can you describe the environmental conditions and representative organisms of this eon? If so, move forward to the next page.
Learning Objective:
Provide the approximate time span, geologic changes, and representative organisms of the Phanerozoic Eon, including the Paleozoic, Mesozoic, and Cenozoic Eras.
Go back to Precambrian Page
Go forward to the Dinosaurs Page
Geologic Time Contents
Complete all five of these sections before taking the quiz and submitting your media piece.
This Module
7: How long has it been here?
This Guide
7A: Geologic Time
Products Information
7A: Quiz & Media
