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Anting is a maintenance behavior during which birds rub insects, usually ants, on their feathers and skin. The bird may pick up the insects in its bill and rub them on the body (active anting), or the bird may lie in an area of high density of the insects and perform dust bathing-like movements (passive anting). The insects secrete liquids containing chemicals such as formic acid, which can act as an insecticide, miticide, fungicide, or bactericide. Alternatively, anting could make the insects edible by removing the distasteful acid, or, possibly supplement the bird's own preen oil. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anting_(behavior) |
Instead of ants, birds can also use millipedes. More than 200 species of bird are known to ant. A possibly related behaviour, self-anointing, is seen in many mammals. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anting_(behavior) |
The first scientific writings of this behaviour dates back to 1831. American ornithologist John James Audubon described wild juvenile turkeys that "wallowed" in abandoned ant hills. Another description was published by a naturalist in 1847 in a manuscript called "Bird of Jamaica". In it the author describes how ants remove parasites from a tame crow, while the crow is foraging for food. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anting_(behavior) |
In 1934 an Alexander Hugh Chisholm described in Bird Wonders of Australia, a strange relationship birds had with ants. The behaviour was described by Erwin Stresemann in German as Einemsen in the German ornithology journal Ornithologische Monatsberichte (Volume XLIII, p. 138) in 1935. Indian ornithologist Salim Ali interpreted an observation by his cousin Humayun Abdulali in the 1936 volume of Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society and included a reference to the Stresemann's paper suggesting that the German term could be translated into English as "anting". | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anting_(behavior) |
Anting most commonly occurs on the ground but in some species, birds practice anting on tree branches. A bird will place the tip of its wing on the ground and rub its bill containing an ant from the tip of the wing up. The tail is usually tucked between the legs and under the body, which results in the bird being unstable. Birds use one ant at a time and only rub a feather once with an ant. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anting_(behavior) |
However, there are some cases where an ant is used more than once but never exceeds three uses. There are some exceptions to this as starlings often take a ball of ants in their bills to be used for anting. Active anting happens very quickly and can often be mistaken for regular feather maintenance. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anting_(behavior) |
This type of anting can last anywhere from just several minutes to half an hour. Most species of birds practice active anting and do this individually or in small groups. Birds may also use 'substitutes' in active anting. Birds have been seen to use snails, grasshoppers, amphipods and even larvae. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anting_(behavior) |
Passive anting occurs when a bird rubs its wings and tail on an anthill. Once a bird has found an anthill it will then spread both of its wings forward at the same time. It will then sit on its tails which attracts the ants. Once the ants are on their wing feathers they provoke the ants by rubbing their head or beak through their feathers where the ants are. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anting_(behavior) |
To prevent ants from crawling onto a bird's head or beak the bird will shake its head very quickly. The birds allow the ants to roam freely around its feathers. This type of anting is less common and is mostly seen in robins and ravens. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anting_(behavior) |
Anting to get rid of ectoparasites is another hypothesis for anting in songbirds. This hypothesis suggests that birds use the chemical secretions that come from ants to control and rid of parasites in their feathers. Microorganisms such as bacteria and fungi can destroy a bird's feathers if their numbers get large enough. Formic acid is a commonly produced chemical by ants, and it was found to inhibit growth of feather destroying microorganisms. However, there is little evidence that chemicals from ants help to remove or deter other parasites such as feather lice and mites. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anting_(behavior) |
The hypothesis that anting is a form of feather maintenance suggests that anting brings saliva to the bird's feathers for use in preening. This helps to remove old preen oil and other substances. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anting_(behavior) |
The food preparation hypothesis suggests that birds rub the ant in its feathers to remove a substance on the ant. Ants produce formic acid as an anti-predator adaptation. Thus, when an ant feels threatened, as when in the beak of a bird, it will spray formic acid. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anting_(behavior) |
It is suggested that birds then rub the ants in their feathers to remove the harmful formic acid. The bird will then ingest the ant. This can be seen in European starlings, Sturnus vulgaris. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anting_(behavior) |
Anting has been compared to human activities such as smoking and other external stimuli that serve no biological purpose and is just for self-stimulation. This hypothesis has been suggested as anting has no obvious function, it is non-adaptive, birds are said to achieve pleasure from anting and anting has characteristics of a habit. However, there is no definitive evidence that sensory self-stimulation is the purpose of anting in birds. There have been several studies that claim to prove this hypothesis while others say just the opposite. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anting_(behavior) |
It has been found that passerine birds molt in the summer months. These birds often focus much of the anting on their wings and tails. This is where the largest feathers emerge, and it has been suggested that anting helps stimulate the growth of these feathers during molt. Not all birds that ant do so during molt. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anting_(behavior) |
Ants that spray and produce formic acid for defense are used for anting more often than species which do not spray or produce formic acid. Species from the subfamily Formicinae are the most commonly chosen by birds. Species from Dolichoderinae and Myrmicinae subfamilies are also used for anting however, not as common as Formicinae. If given a choice a bird will choose an ant in the subfamily Formicinae over all other species. In total there are 24 ant species birds use for anting. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anting_(behavior) |
Some birds participate in this anting behaviour but with other organisms and even objects. Some of the organisms birds use are garlic snails, amphipods, millipedes, dermapterans, caterpillars, grasshoppers, hemipterans, mealworm larvae, and wasps. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anting_(behavior) |
Dusting with soil from ant-hills has been considered by some as equivalent to anting.Some birds like antbirds and flickers not only ant, but also consume the ants as an important part of their diet. Other opportunist ant-eating birds include sparrows, wrens, grouse and starlings. European honey-buzzards have been found to gather fresh maple branches on the ground and then spread themselves over it and it has been suggested that this might be a case of tool-use to attract ants for anting.Similar to anting may be the observed habit some birds show of picking up cigarette butts, sometimes lit, and rubbing themselves with them. == References == | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anting_(behavior) |
Phillumeny (also known as phillumenism) is the hobby of collecting different match-related items: matchboxes, matchbox labels, matchbooks, matchcovers, matchsafes, etc. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matchbox |
A matchbox is a box made of cardboard or thin wood and designed to hold matches. It usually has a coarse striking surface on one edge for lighting the matches contained inside. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matchbox |
The word, derived from Greek phil- + Latin lumen- , was introduced by the British collector Marjorie S. Evans in 1943 (who later became president of the British Matchbox Label & Booklet Society, now renamed the British Matchbox Label and Bookmatch Society). A person who engages in phillumeny is a phillumenist. These two forms have been adopted by many other languages, e.g., philumΓ©niste, fillumenista, Filumenist and ΡΠΈΠ»ΡΠΌΠ΅Π½ΠΈΡΡ. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matchbox |
Collecting of matchbox labels emerged together with matches. In some collections it is possible to find labels from chemical matches, produced from 1810 to 1815βlong before the modern matches arrived. Quite often people who went abroad brought back matchboxes as souvenirs from other countries. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matchbox |
After World War II a lot of match factories worked in close contact with local phillumenists, issuing special non-advertising sets. The hobby became especially widespread from the 1960s through the 1980s. Widespread introduction of bulky (for collectors) cardboard matchboxes with less distinct images on them, much poorer quality of print and, also some social phenomena, made this hobby (like many others, not connected with commerce) much less engaged. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matchbox |
In Japan, Teiichi Yoshizawa was listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the world's top phillumenist. In Portugal, Jose Manuel Pereira published a series of albums to catalog and display matchbox collections called "Phillalbum". | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matchbox |
This timeline of natural history summarizes significant geological and biological events from the formation of the Earth to the arrival of modern humans. Times are listed in millions of years, or megaanni (Ma). | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_natural_history |
The geologic record is the strata (layers) of rock in the planet's crust and the science of geology is much concerned with the age and origin of all rocks to determine the history and formation of Earth and to understand the forces that have acted upon it. Geologic time is the timescale used to calculate dates in the planet's geologic history from its origin (currently estimated to have been some 4,600 million years ago) to the present day. Radiometric dating measures the steady decay of radioactive elements in an object to determine its age. It is used to calculate dates for the older part of the planet's geological record. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_natural_history |
The theory is very complicated but, in essence, the radioactive elements within an object decay to form isotopes of each chemical element. Isotopes are atoms of the element that differ in mass but share the same general properties. Geologists are most interested in the decay of isotopes carbon-14 (into nitrogen-14) and potassium-40 (into argon-40). | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_natural_history |
Carbon-14 aka radiocarbon dating works for organic materials that are less than about 50,000 years old. For older periods, the potassium-argon dating process is more accurate. Radiocarbon dating is carried out by measuring how much of the carbon-14 and nitrogen-14 isotopes are found in a material. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_natural_history |
The ratio between the two is used to estimate the material's age. Suitable materials include wood, charcoal, paper, fabrics, fossils and shells. It is assumed that rock exists in layers according to age, with older beds below later ones. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_natural_history |
This is the basis of stratigraphy. The ages of more recent layers are calculated primarily by the study of fossils, which are remains of ancient life preserved in the rock. These occur consistently and so a theory is feasible. Most of the boundaries in recent geologic time coincide with extinctions (e.g., the dinosaurs) and with the appearances of new species (e.g., hominids). | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_natural_history |
In the earliest Solar System history, the Sun, the planetesimals and the jovian planets were formed. The inner Solar System aggregated more slowly than the outer, so the terrestrial planets were not yet formed, including Earth and Moon. c. 4,570 Ma β A supernova explosion (known as the primal supernova) seeds our galactic neighborhood with heavy elements that will be incorporated into the Earth, and results in a shock wave in a dense region of the Milky Way galaxy. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_natural_history |
The Ca-Al-rich inclusions, which formed 2 million years before the chondrules, are a key signature of a supernova explosion. c. 4,567 Β±3 Ma β Rapid collapse of hydrogen molecular cloud, forming a third-generation Population I star, the Sun, in a region of the Galactic Habitable Zone (GHZ), about 25,000 light years from the center of the Milky Way Galaxy. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_natural_history |
c. 4,566 Β±2 Ma β A protoplanetary disc (from which Earth eventually forms) emerges around the young Sun, which is in its T Tauri stage. c. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_natural_history |
4,560β4,550 Ma β Proto-Earth forms at the outer (cooler) edge of the habitable zone of the Solar System. At this stage the solar constant of the Sun was only about 73% of its current value, but liquid water may have existed on the surface of the Proto-Earth, probably due to the greenhouse warming of high levels of methane and carbon dioxide present in the atmosphere. Early bombardment phase begins: because the solar neighbourhood is rife with large planetoids and debris, Earth experiences a number of giant impacts that help to increase its overall size. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_natural_history |
c. 4,533 Ma β The Precambrian (to c. 539 Ma), now termed a "supereon" but formerly an era, is split into three geological time intervals called eons: Hadean, Archaean and Proterozoic. The latter two are sub-divided into several eras as currently defined. In total, the Precambrian comprises some 85% of geological time from the formation of Earth to the time when creatures first developed exoskeletons (i.e., hard outer parts) and thereby left abundant fossil remains. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_natural_history |
c. 4,533 Ma β Hadean Eon, Precambrian Supereon and unofficial Cryptic era start as the EarthβMoon system forms, possibly as a result of a glancing collision between proto-Earth and the hypothetical protoplanet Theia (the Earth was considerably smaller than now, before this impact). This impact vaporized a large amount of the crust, and sent material into orbit around Earth, which lingered as rings, similar to those of Saturn, for a few million years, until they coalesced to become the Moon. The Moon geology pre-Nectarian period starts. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_natural_history |
Earth was covered by a magmatic ocean 200 kilometres (120 mi) deep resulting from the impact energy from this and other planetesimals during the early bombardment phase, and energy released by the planetary core forming. Outgassing from crustal rocks gives Earth a reducing atmosphere of methane, nitrogen, hydrogen, ammonia, and water vapour, with lesser amounts of hydrogen sulfide, carbon monoxide, then carbon dioxide. With further full outgassing over 1000β1500 K, nitrogen and ammonia become lesser constituents, and comparable amounts of methane, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, water vapour, and hydrogen are released. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_natural_history |
c. 4,500 Ma β Sun enters main sequence: a solar wind sweeps the Earth-Moon system clear of debris (mainly dust and gas). | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_natural_history |
End of the Early Bombardment Phase. Basin Groups Era begins on Earth. c. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_natural_history |
4,450 Ma β 100 million years after the Moon formed, the first lunar crust, formed of lunar anorthosite, differentiates from lower magmas. The earliest Earth crust probably forms similarly out of similar material. On Earth the pluvial period starts, in which the Earth's crust cools enough to let oceans form. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_natural_history |
c. 4,404 Ma β First known mineral, found at Jack Hills in Western Australia. Detrital zircons show presence of a solid crust and liquid water. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_natural_history |
Latest possible date for a secondary atmosphere to form, produced by the Earth's crust outgassing, reinforced by water and possibly organic molecules delivered by comet impacts and carbonaceous chondrites (including type CI shown to be high in a number of amino acids and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH)). c. 4,300 Ma β Nectarian Era begins on Earth. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_natural_history |
c. 4,250 Ma β Earliest evidence for life, based on unusually high amounts of light isotopes of carbon, a common sign of life, found in Earth's oldest mineral deposits located in the Jack Hills of Western Australia. c. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_natural_history |
4,100 Ma β Early Imbrian Era begins on Earth. Late heavy bombardment of the Moon (and probably of the Earth as well) by bolides and asteroids, produced possibly by the planetary migration of Neptune into the Kuiper belt as a result of orbital resonances between Jupiter and Saturn. "Remains of biotic life" were found in 4.1 billion-year-old rocks in Western Australia. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_natural_history |
According to one of the researchers, "If life arose relatively quickly on Earth ... then it could be common in the universe." c. 4,030 Ma β Acasta Gneiss of Northwest Territories, Canada, first known oldest rock, or aggregate of minerals. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_natural_history |
c. 4,000 Ma β Archean Eon and Eoarchean Era start. Possible first appearance of plate tectonic activity in the Earth's crust as plate structures may have begun appearing. Possible beginning of Napier Mountains Orogeny forces of faulting and folding create first metamorphic rocks. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_natural_history |
Origins of life. c. 3,930 Ma β Possible stabilization of Canadian Shield begins c. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_natural_history |
3,920β3,850 Ma β Final phase of Late Heavy Bombardment c. 3,850 Ma β Greenland apatite shows evidence of 12C enrichment, characteristic of the presence of photosynthetic life. c. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_natural_history |
3,850 Ma β Evidence of life: Akilia Island graphite off Western Greenland contains evidence of kerogen, of a type consistent with photosynthesis. c. 3,800 Ma β Oldest banded iron formations found. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_natural_history |
First complete continental masses or cratons, formed of granite blocks, appear on Earth. Occurrence of initial felsic igneous activity on eastern edge of Antarctic craton as first great continental mass begins to coalesce. East European Craton begins to form β first rocks of the Ukrainian Shield and Voronezh Massif are laid down c. 3,750 Ma β Nuvvuagittuq Greenstone Belt forms c. 3,700 Ma β Graphite found to be biogenic in 3.7 billion-year-old metasedimentary rocks discovered in Western Greenland Stabilization of Kaapval craton begins: old tonaltic gneisses laid down | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_natural_history |
c. 3,600 Ma β Paleoarchean Era starts. Possible assembly of the Vaalbara supercontinent; oldest cratons on Earth (such as the Canadian Shield, East European Craton and Kaapval) begin growing as a result of crustal disturbances along continents coalescing into Vaalbara β Pilbara Craton stabilizes. Formation of Barberton greenstone belt: Makhonjwa Mountains uplifts on the eastern edge of Kaapval craton, oldest mountains in Africa β area called the "genesis of life" for exceptional preservation of fossils. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_natural_history |
Narryer Gneiss Terrane stabilizes: these gneisses become the "bedrock" for the formation of the Yilgarn Craton in Australia β noted for the survival of the Jack Hills where the oldest mineral, a zircon was uncovered. c. 3,500 Ma β Lifetime of the Last universal ancestor: split between bacteria and archaea occurs as "tree of life" begins branching out β varieties of Eubacteria begin to radiate out globally. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_natural_history |
Fossils resembling cyanobacteria, found at Warrawoona, Western Australia. c. 3,480 Ma β Fossils of microbial mat found in 3.48 billion-year-old sandstone discovered in Western Australia. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_natural_history |
First appearance of stromatolitic organisms that grow at interfaces between different types of material, mostly on submerged or moist surfaces. c. 3,460 Ma β Fossils of bacteria in chert. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_natural_history |
Zimbabwe Craton stabilizes from the suture of two smaller crustal blocks, the Tokwe Segment to the south and the Rhodesdale Segment or Rhodesdale gneiss to the north. c. 3.400 Ma β Eleven taxa of prokaryotes are preserved in the Apex Chert of the Pilbara craton in Australia. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_natural_history |
Because chert is fine-grained silica-rich microcrystalline, cryptocrystalline or microfibrious material, it preserves small fossils quite well. Stabilization of Baltic Shield begins. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_natural_history |
c. 3.340 Ma β Johannesburg Dome forms in South Africa: located in the central part of Kaapvaal Craton and consists of trondhjemitic and tonalitic granitic rocks intruded into mafic-ultramafic greenstone β the oldest granitoid phase recognised so far. c. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_natural_history |
3,300 Ma β Onset of compressional tectonics. Intrusion of granitic plutons on the Kaapvaal Craton. c. 3,260 Ma β One of the largest recorded impact events occurs near the Barberton Greenstone Belt, when a 58 km (36 mi) asteroid leaves a crater almost 480 km (300 mi) across β two and a half times larger in diameter than the Chicxulub crater. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_natural_history |
c. 3,200 Ma β Mesoarchean Era starts. Onverwacht series in South Africa form β contain some of the oldest microfossils mostly spheroidal and carbonaceous alga-like bodies. c. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_natural_history |
3,200β2,600 Ma β Assembly of the Ur supercontinent to cover between 12 and 16% of the current continental crust. Formation of Limpopo Belt. c. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_natural_history |
3,100 Ma β Fig Tree Formation: second round of fossilizations including Archaeosphaeroides barbertonensis and Eobacterium. Gneiss and greenstone belts in the Baltic Shield are laid down in Kola Peninsula, Karelia and northeastern Finland. c. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_natural_history |
3,000 Ma β Humboldt Orogeny in Antarctica: possible formation of Humboldt Mountains in Queen Maud Land. Photosynthesizing cyanobacteria evolve; they use water as a reducing agent, thereby producing oxygen as a waste product. The oxygen initially oxidizes dissolved iron in the oceans, creating iron ore β over time oxygen concentration in the atmosphere slowly rises, acting as a poison for many bacteria. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_natural_history |
As Moon is still very close to Earth and causes tides 1,000 feet (305 m) high, the Earth is continually wracked by hurricane-force winds β these extreme mixing influences are thought to stimulate evolutionary processes. Rise of Stromatolites: microbial mats become successful forming the first reef building communities on Earth in shallow warm tidal pool zones (to 1.5 Gyr). Tanzania Craton forms. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_natural_history |
c. 2,940 Ma β Yilgarn Craton of western Australia forms by the accretion of a multitude of formerly present blocks or terranes of existing continental crust. c. 2,900 Ma β Assembly of the Kenorland supercontinent, based upon the core of the Baltic shield, formed at c.3100 Ma. Narryer Gneiss Terrane (including Jack Hills) of Western Australia undergoes extensive metamorphism. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_natural_history |
c. 2,800 Ma β Neoarchean Era starts. Breakup of the Vaalbara: Breakup of supercontinent Ur as it becomes a part of the major supercontinent Kenorland. Kaapvaal and Zimbabwe cratons join together. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_natural_history |
c. 2,770 Ma β Formation of Hamersley Basin on the southern margin of Pilbara Craton β last stable submarine-fluviatile environment between the Yilgarn and Pilbara prior to rifting, contraction and assembly of the intracratonic Gascoyne Complex. c. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_natural_history |
2,750 Ma β Renosterkoppies Greenstone Belt forms on the northern edge of the Kaapvaal Craton. c. 2,736 Ma β Formation of the Temagami Greenstone Belt in Temagami, Ontario, Canada. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_natural_history |
c. 2,707 Ma β Blake River Megacaldera Complex begins to form in present-day Ontario and Quebec β first known Precambrian supervolcano β first phase results in creation of 8 km long, 40 km wide, eastβwest striking Misema Caldera* β coalescence of at least two large mafic shield volcanoes. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_natural_history |
c. 2,705 Ma β Major komatiite eruption, possibly global β possible mantle overturn event. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_natural_history |
c. 2,704 Ma β Blake River Megacaldera Complex: second phase results in creation of 30 km long, 15 km wide northwestβsoutheast trending New Senator Caldera β thick massive mafic sequences which has been inferred to be a subaqueous lava lake. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_natural_history |
c. 2,700 Ma β Biomarkers of cyanobacteria discovered, together with steranes (sterols of cholesterol), associated with films of eukaryotes, in shales located beneath banded iron formation hematite beds, in Hamersley Range, Western Australia; skewed sulfur isotope ratios found in pyrites show a small rise in oxygen concentration in the atmosphere; Sturgeon Lake Caldera forms in Wabigoon greenstone belt β contains well preserved homoclinal chain of greenschist facies, metamorphosed intrusive, volcanic and sedimentary layers (Mattabi pyroclastic flow considered third most voluminous eruptive event); stromatolites of Bulawayo series in Zimbabwe form β first verified reef community on Earth. c. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_natural_history |
2,696 Ma β Blake River Megacaldera Complex: third phase of activity constructs classic east-northeast striking Noranda Caldera which contains a 7-to-9-km-thick succession of mafic and felsic rocks erupted during five major series of activity. Abitibi greenstone belt in present-day Ontario and Quebec begins to form: considered world's largest series of Archean greenstone belts, appears to represent a series of thrusted subterranes. c. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_natural_history |
2,690 Ma β Formation of high pressure granulites in the Limpopo Central Region. c. 2,650 Ma β Insell Orogeny: occurrence of a very high grade discrete tectonothermal event (a UHT metamorphic event). | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_natural_history |
c. 2,600 Ma β Oldest known giant carbonate platform. Saturation of oxygen in ocean sediments is reached as oxygen now begins to dramatically appear in Earth's atmosphere. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_natural_history |
The Proterozoic (from c. 2500 Ma to c. 541 Ma) saw the first traces of biological activity. Fossil remains of bacteria and algae. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_natural_history |
c. 2,500 Ma β Proterozoic Eon, Paleoproterozoic Era, and Siderian Period start. Oxygen saturation in the oceans is reached: Banded iron formations form and saturate ocean floor deposits β without an oxygen sink, Earth's atmosphere becomes highly oxygenic. Great Oxygenation Event led by cyanobacteria's oxygenic photosynthesis β various forms of Archaea and anoxic bacteria become extinct in first great extinction event on Earth. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_natural_history |
Algoman Orogeny or Kenoran: assembly of Arctica out of the Canadian Laurentian Shield and Siberian craton β formation of Angaran Shield and Slave Province. c. 2,440 Ma β Formation of Gawler Craton in Australia. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_natural_history |
c. 2,400 Ma β Huronian glaciation starts, probably from oxidation of earlier methane greenhouse gas produced by burial of organic sediments of photosynthesizers. Formation of Dharwar Craton in southern India. c. 2,400 Ma β Dharwar Craton in southern India stabilizes. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_natural_history |
c. 2,300 Ma β Rhyacian period starts. c. 2,250 Ma β Bushveld Igneous Complex forms: world's largest reserves of platinum-group metals (platinum, palladium, osmium, iridium, rhodium and ruthenium), as well as vast quantities of iron, tin, chromium, titanium and vanadium appear β formation of Transvaal Basin begins. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_natural_history |
c. 2,200β1800 Ma β Continental Red Beds found, produced by iron in weathered sandstone being exposed to oxygen. Eburnean Orogeny, series of tectonic, metamorphic and plutonic events establish Eglab Shield to the north of West African Craton and Man Shield to its south β Birimian domain of West Africa established and structured. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_natural_history |
c. 2,200 Ma β Iron content of ancient fossil soils shows an oxygen built up to 5β18% of current levels. End of Kenoran Orogeny: invasion of Superior and Slave Provinces by basaltic dikes and sills β Wyoming and Montana arm of Superior Province experiences intrusion of 5 km thick sheet of chromite-bearing gabbroic rock as Stillwater Complex forms. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_natural_history |
c. 2,100 Ma β Huronian glaciation ends. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_natural_history |
Earliest known eukaryote fossils found. Earliest multicellular organisms collectively referred to as the "Gabonionta" (Francevillian Group Fossil); Wopmay orogeny along western margin of Canadian Shield. c. 2,090 Ma β Eburnean Orogeny: Eglab Shield experiences syntectonic trondhjemitic pluton intrusion of its Chegga series β most of the intrusion is in the form of a plagioclase called oligoclase. 2.070 Ma β Eburnean Orogeny: asthenospheric upwelling releases large volume of post-orogenic magmas β magma events repeatedly reactivated from the Neoproterozoic to the Mesozoic. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_natural_history |
c. 2,050 Ma β Orosirian Period starts. Significant orogeny in most continents. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_natural_history |
c. 2,023 Ma β Vredefort impact structure forms. c. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_natural_history |
2,005 Ma β Glenburgh Orogeny (to c. 1,920 Ma) begins: Glenburgh Terrane in western Australia begins to stabilize during period of substantial granite magmatism and deformation; Halfway Gneiss and Moogie Metamorphics result. Dalgaringa Supersuite (to c. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_natural_history |
1,985 Ma), comprising sheets, dykes and viens of mesocratic and leucocratic tonalite, stabilizes. c. 2,000 Ma β The lesser supercontinent Atlantica forms. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_natural_history |
The Oklo natural nuclear reactor of Gabon produced by uranium-precipitant bacteria. c. 1,900β,880 Ma β Gunflint chert biota forms flourishes including prokaryotes like Kakabekia, Gunflintia, Animikiea and Eoastrion c. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_natural_history |
1,850 Ma β Sudbury impact structure. Penokean orogeny. Bacterial viruses (bacteriophage) emerge before, or soon after, the divergence of the prokaryotic and eukaryotic lineages. c. 1,830 Ma β Capricorn Orogeny (1.83β1.78 Gyr) stabilizes central and northern Gascoyne Complex: formation of pelitic and psammitic schists known as Morrissey Metamorphics and depositing Pooranoo Metamorphics an amphibolite facies | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_natural_history |
c. 1,800 Ma β Statherian Period starts. Supercontinent Columbia forms, one of whose fragments being Nena. Oldest ergs develop on several cratons Barramundi Orogeny (c. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_natural_history |
1.8 Gyr) influences MacArthur Basin in Northern Australia. c. 1,780 Ma β Colorado Orogeny (1.78 β 1.65 Gyr) influences southern margin of Wyoming cratonβcollision of Colorado orogen and Trans-Hudson orogen with stabilized Archean craton structure c. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_natural_history |
1,770 Ma β Big Sky Orogeny (1.77 Gyr) influences southwest Montana: collision between Hearne and Wyoming cratons c. 1,765 Ma β As Kimban Orogeny in Australian continent slows, Yapungku Orogeny (1.765 Gyr) begins affecting Yilgarn craton in Western Australia β possible formation of Darling Fault, one of longest and most significant in Australia c. 1,760 Ma β Yavapai Orogeny (1.76β1.7 Gyr) impacts mid- to south-western United States c. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_natural_history |
1,750 Ma β Gothian Orogeny (1.75β1.5 Gyr): formation of tonalitic-granodioritic plutonic rocks and calc-alkaline volcanites in the East European Craton c. 1,700 Ma β Stabilization of second major continental mass, the Guiana Shield in South America c. 1,680 Ma β Mangaroon Orogeny (1.68β1.62 Gyr), on the Gascoyne Complex in Western Australia: Durlacher Supersuite, granite intrusion featuring a northern (Minnie Creek) and southern belt β heavily sheared orthoclase porphyroclastic granites c. 1,650 Ma β Kararan Orogeny (1.65 Gyr) uplifts great mountains on the Gawler Craton in Southern Australia β formation of Gawler Range including picturesque Conical Hill Track and "Organ Pipes" waterfall | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_natural_history |
c. 1,600 Ma β Mesoproterozoic Era and Calymmian Period start. Platform covers expand. Major orogenic event in Australia: Isan Orogeny influences Mount Isa Block of Queensland β major deposits of lead, silver, copper and zinc are laid down. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_natural_history |
Mazatzal Orogeny (to c. 1,300 Ma) influences mid- to south-western United States: Precambrian rocks of the Grand Canyon, Vishnu Schist and Grand Canyon Series, are formed establishing basement of Canyon with metamorphosed gneisses that are intruded by granites. Belt Supergroup in Montana/Idaho/BC formed in basin on edge of Laurentia. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_natural_history |
c. 1,500 Ma β Supercontinent Columbia splits apart: associated with continental rifting along western margin of Laurentia, eastern India, southern Baltica, southeastern Siberia, northwestern South Africa and North China Block-formation of Ghats Province in India. First structurally complex eukaryotes (Horodyskia, colonial formamiferian? ). | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_natural_history |
c. 1,400 Ma β Ectasian Period starts. Platform covers expand. Major increase in Stromatolite diversity with widespread blue-green algae colonies and reefs dominating tidal zones of oceans and seas c. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_natural_history |
1,300 Ma β Break-up of Columbia Supercontinent completed: widespread anorogenic magmatic activity, forming anorthosite-mangerite-charnockite-granite suites in North America, Baltica, Amazonia and North China β stabilization of Amazonian Craton in South America Grenville orogeny(to c. 1,000 Ma) in North America: globally associated with assembly of Supercontinent Rodinia establishes Grenville Province in Eastern North America β folded mountains from Newfoundland to North Carolina as Old Rag Mountain forms c. 1,270 Ma β Emplacement of Mackenzie granite mafic dike swarm β one of three dozen dike swarms, forms into Mackenzie Large Igneous Province β formation of Copper Creek deposits c. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_natural_history |
1,250 Ma β Sveconorwegian Orogeny (to c. 900 Ma) begins: essentially a reworking of previously formed crust on the Baltic Shield c. 1,240 Ma β Second major dike swarm, Sudbury dikes form in Northeastern Ontario around the area of the Sudbury Basin | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_natural_history |
c. 1,200 Ma β Stenian Period starts. Red alga Bangiomorpha pubescens, earliest fossil evidence for sexually reproducing organism. Meiosis and sexual reproduction are present in single-celled eukaryotes, and possibly in the common ancestor of all eukaryotes. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_natural_history |
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