la Paléontologie

Paleontology is the section of Earth Sciences which examines the development of Life on our planet. Having been forming by the accumulation of rocks (Asteroids) condensing from a space cloud, this being itself the remains of a former star, life on Earth started much earlier than longtime thought. The first traces considered originating from organic life have been found in rocks with nearly 3500 million years of age.

After a further two billion years of slow development (resulting especially in the slow formation of an oxygenated atmosphere), Earth has lived a true explosion of Life, having conquered even the most inhabitable and hostile places on our planet.

Even global catastrophies, like giant Asteroid impacts or immense volcanic eruptions, which have stroken several times in the course of our planet's history, didn't succeed to eleminate Life. Even more, they were triggering a renewal and an acceleration of evolution, resulting in the rise of completely new species.

"Pale-onto-logy", the science ("logy") of ancient ("pale") tribes ("onto"), does examine this development since its very first days, until to our present time. It unites the science of Geology - dealing with everything concerning rocks - and Biology, the science of Life. Uniting in this way the knowledge about the construction plans of the present living beings with the formation of the different kinds of rocks, Paleontology allows telling the History of Earth, as shown the stratigraphic table below:

Age (millions of years)	Period		Stage	important events

4500	Archaic			Formation of Earth
3500 650	Proterozoic			first traces of microscopic life - carbonaceous coatings on rocks Life only in the oceans. Slowly formation of an oxygenated atmosphere (Photosynthesis!)
550	Ediacarian			"Vendobiota", single immobile organisms with "air-matress-like" construction, very diversified, disappearing to the beginning of the Cambrian
490	Cambrian			first animals with small shells at the beginning of the Cambrian ("small shelly fauna"), appearence and extinction of the Archaeocyathides Trilobites, Stromatolithes, algae
470 450 440	Ordovician	lower middle upper	Tremadocian Arenigian Llanvirnian Llandeilian Caradocian Ashgillian	first Brachiopodes, Echinoderms (Cystoids), Graptolithes, Nautiloids (Orthoceras), first snails (Bellerophon, Sinuites) first vertebrates (Agnathes) first plants at the edges of the continents beginning of the Caledonian Orogenesis
410	Silurien		Llandoverian Wenlockian Ludlowian Pridolian	colonisation of the continents by plants (along the rivers), accompagnated by Scorpions and Millipedes. In the oceans large proliferation of Graptolithes, first corals and fish
390 370 360	Devonian	lower middle upper	Gédinnian Siegénian Emsian Eifelian (Couvinian) Givetian Frasnian Famennian	completion of the conquest of the continents by plants (Rhynia) and Arthropodes. In the oceans large proliferation of coral- and Stromatopore-reefs, Brachiopodes, Mollusks, fish. end of the Caledonian Orogenesis, beginning of the Hercynian Orogenesis. the first terrestrial Tetrapodes (Amphibians - Ichthyostega)
320 300	Carboniferous	lower upper	Tournaisian Visean Namurian Westphalian Stéphanian	accumulation of the coal layers since the Namurian. Giant species of Cryptogames et Prespermaphytes. giant insects the first reptiles big ice age towards the Permian
250	Permian		Autunian Saxonian Thuringian	desertification on the super-continent (Pangea), first Coniferophytes (Lebachia), proliferation of the reptiles. Mass Extinction at the end of the Permian, extinction of the Trilobites, end of the Hercynian Orogenesis.

Age (millions of years)	Period		Stage	important events

250 205	Triassic		Buntsandstein Muschelkalk Keuper Rhétien	propagation of the reptiles. apparition and extinction of the Ceratites (Muschelkalk), first Cycadophytes and Araucariales, propagation of Conifers, first Mammals
180 155 135	Jurassic	lower Lias, black Jurrassic middle Dogger, brown Jurassic upper Malm, white Jurassic	Hettangian Sinémurian Pliensbachian Toarcian Aalenian Bajocian Bathonian Callovian Oxfordian Kimméridgian Portlandian	beginning of the breakup of Pangea during the entire Jurassic: the Great Period of Ammonites and Saurians, zoning being made by means of the Ammonite faunas. proliferation of clams, snails, Brachiopodes, sea-urchins, fish, Belemnites, etc. the first birds (Archaeopteryx)
96 65	Cretaceous	lower upper	Berriasian Valanginian Hauterivian Barrémian Aptian Albian Cénomanian Turonian Coniacian Santonian Campanian Maestrichtian	Continuation of the Great Period of Ammonites and Saurians zoning being made by means of the Ammonite faunas. the first flowering plants beginning of the Alpine Orogenesis at the end of the Cretaceous Mass Extinction, end of all Saurians, Ammonites, Belemnites, meteorite impact of Chicxulub/Yucatán. phase of global cooling.

Age (millions of years)	Period		Stage	important events
				Alpine Orogenesis (until present)
65 53 35 23	Tertiary (Paleogene, Nummulitic)	Paleocene Eocene Oligocene	Danian (Montian) Thanetian Ypressian Lutetian Bartonian Ludian	proliferation of the Mammals taking the place of the Saurians proliferation of the Foraminifers, giant forms (Nummulites), climax of snails and clams with giant forms. apparition of the Gramineae (grasses)
5,3 1,7	Tertiary (Neogene)	Miocene Pliocene		the first Hominides in Africa
0,01 today	Quaternary	Pleistocene Holocene		big ice ages, primitive man entering Europe, first manifestations of art 60 000 years ago our present time