Geologic History of New York State a B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
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(Fossils not drawn to scale) GEOLOGIC HISTORY OF NEW YORK STATE A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Bothriolepis Cryptolithus Valcouroceras Centroceras Eucalyptocrinus Tetragraptus Coelophysis Stylonurus Beluga Cooksonia Naples Tree Lichenaria Pleurodictyum Platyceras Mucrospirifer Elliptocephala Phacops Hexameroceras Manticoceras Ctenocrinus Dicellograptus Eurypterus Mastodont Whale Aneurophyton Condor Cystiphyllum Maclurites Eospirifer Tectonic Rock Time Distribution of Fossils Events Important Geologic Inferred Position of Record (Including Important Fossils of New York) Affecting Eon Era Period Epoch Life on Earth in Northeast Events in New York Earth’s Landmasses Lettered circles indicate the approximate time of existence of a specific Millions of years ago NYS index fossil (e.g. Fossil lived at the end of the Early Cambrian). North Millions of years ago A America 0 HOLOCENE 0 QUATERNARY 0.01 S PLEISTOCENE 1.6 Humans, mastodonts, mammoths O Advance and retreat of last continental ice 59 million PLIOCENE Large carnivores Uplift of Adirondack region TERTIARY CENOZOIC NEOGENE 5.3 years MIOCENE Abundant grazing mammals 24 Earliest grasses ago ZOIC OLIGOCENE Large running mammals 33.7 500 PHANERO- PALEOGENE EOCENE Many modern groups of mammals BIRDS 54.8 TERTIARY PALEOCENE L 65 Extinction of dinosaurs and ammonoids A Earliest placental mammals Sands and shales underlying Long Island and Staten Oldest T LATE Island deposited on margin of Atlantic Ocean E multi- MESOZOIC Climax of dinosaurs and ammonoids 1000 cellular CRETACEOUS Earliest flowering plants life Development of passive continental margin M Decline of brachiopods First EARLY Diverse bony fishes MAMMALS NAUTILOIDS I appearance DINOSAURS D of sexually 142 CRETACEOUS 119 million D reproducing years LATE organisms ago L Earliest birds E JURASSIC MIDDLE Abundant dinosaurs and ammonoids Initial opening of Atlantic Ocean EARLY North America and Africa separate 206 E LATE Modern coral groups appear L Margin Passive Intrusion of Palisades sill Earliest dinosaurs and mammals with TRIASSIC MIDDLE Pangea begins to break up 2000 A abundant cycads and conifers R EARLY 251 Extinction of many kinds of marine L LATE animals, including trilobites Rifting Extensive erosion PALEOZOIC First mammal-like reptiles Y PERMIAN Transition to atmosphere EARLY TRIASSIC 232 million CORALS Appalachian (Alleghanian) Orogeny containing CRINOIDS caused by collision of North America years oxygen 290 ago AMMONOIDS and Africa along transform margin, L LATE Earliest reptiles GASTROPODS TRILOBITES VASCULAR PLANTS BRACHIOPODS forming Pangea A PENNSYLVANIAN Extensive coal-forming forests EARLY T 323 E LATE Abundant sharks and amphibians MISSISSIPPIAN Large and numerous scale trees 3000 EROUS Earth’s M EARLY and seed ferns first forest CARBONIF- I 362 D LATE Catskill Delta forms PRECAMBRIAN R D Earliest amphibians, ammonoids, sharks Q Erosion of Acadian Mountains L MIDDLE C F G N E Oldest microfossils DEVONIAN Extinction of armored fish, other X Z Acadian Orogeny caused by collision of fish abundant North America and Avalon and closing EARLY I V Geochemical evidence PLACODERM FISH of remaining part of Iapetus Ocean 418 DEVONIAN/MISSISSIPPIAN 362 million for oldest biological Earliest insects fixing of carbon LATE Salt and gypsum deposited in evaporite basins years E Earliest land plants and animals H M P ago SILURIAN E U Y ARCHEAN PROTEROZOIC Peak development of eurypterids A EARLY EURYPTERIDS R Oldest known rocks 443 4000 LATE K Erosion of Taconic Mountains; Queenston Delta forms L Earth’s first Invertebrates dominant coral reef Taconian Orogeny caused by closing of MIDDLE B D Transform Collision Y ORDOVICIAN – mollusks become abundant T W western part of Iapetus Ocean and Diverse coral and echinoderms GRAPTOLITES collision between North America and EARLY volcanic island arc Graptolites abundant J Estimated time of origin 490 of Earth and solar system LATE Earliest fish 4600 Algal reefs MIDDLE Burgess shale fauna ORDOVICIAN 458 million CAMBRIAN A Earliest chordates, diverse trilobites years ago EARLY Earliest trilobites Earliest marine animals with shells Iapetus passive margin forms Continental Collision 544 Subduction Rifting and initial opening of Iapetus Ocean 580 Ediacaran fauna Erosion of Grenville Mountains Soft-bodied organisms Grenville Orogeny: Ancestral Adirondack Rifting Mtns. and Hudson Highlands formed Passive Margin Passive Stromatolites 1300 96-001TN (rev) 11/2006 8 Earth Science Reference Tables — 2001 Edition (Revised November 2006) Earth Science Reference Tables — 2001 Edition (Revised November 2006) 9.