Cambrian Period www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/cambrian/camb.html
Known as the "Cambrian Explosion" because of the diverse life forms that appeared in a relatively short time, this site discusses this historical period of life on earth when most major groups of animals appear in the fossil record is shown.

Cretaceous Period www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/mesozoic/cretaceous/cretaceous.html
Tectonics and their effects, descriptions of herbivore and carnivore dinosaurs, with special mention of Tyrannosaurus Rex, the appearance of flowering plants and species of modern insects are described. Mention is also made of events leading to the extinction of dinosaurs

Eocene Epoch http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/tertiary/eoc.html
The emergence of mammals as the dominant land creatures, and how they took to the air and sea, is discussed. The formation of oil deposits, grasslands, temperate and sub-tropical forests is also presented.

Holocene Epoch http://www.palaeos.com/Cenozoic/Holocene/Holocene.htm
Holocene means Recent, and this Epoch includes the time since the end of the last Ice Age. It describes how many of the larger animals associated with the ice ages did not survive into Recent times and the emergence of Homo Sapiens

The Jurassic Period www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/mesozoic/jurassic/jurassintro.html
Overview of the Jurassic period from U.C. Berkeley Museum of Paleontology. Learn about its plant and animal life and the arrangement of rocks on the earth's crust.

Miocene Epoch http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/tertiary/mio.html
Known as the Age of Mammals because of their abundance at this time, this site gives descriptions of mammals based on fossils found, together with an artist's impression of what they may have looked like.

Paleozoic Era www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/paleozoic/paleozoic.html
The dramatic changes that took place in the earth's history during the Paleozoic Era, including changes in life forms on earth ranging from invertebrate marine animals to vertebrates and reptiles, are described.

Pleistocene www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/quaternary/ple.html
Some of the main features of the Pleistocene Epoch are presented including glacial movement, large land animals, and birds. A special exhibit and tour of the Paleontological Institute of Russia, which houses some of the large Pleistocene animals, is included

Pliocene Epoch www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/tertiary/pli.html
Resource offers chart and text explaining the Pliocene Epoch. Describes how cooling and ice formation at the poles distinguished this epoch.

Pre-Cambrian time www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/precambrian/precambrian.html
This University of Berkeley site gives an idea of the Pre-Cambrian time period that makes up about seven eighths of the earth's history, when some of the most important events in biological history took place.

Trilobites www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/arthropoda/trilobita/trilobita.html
A detailed description of a type of marine life found in the Paleozoic era called Trilobites, considered to rank second only to dinosaurs among groups of extinct organisms, is presented.

back to top