Fossil Record

Primitive fishes date back to the Cambrian period, about 550 million years ago. These jawless fishes lived relatively unchanged over the following 100 million years. Bony fishes and cartilaginous fishes (such as sharks and rays) arose from a common ancestor.

The Devonian period, about 360-400 million years ago, is known as the "Age of Fishes" because of the abundance and diversity of fishes that appeared during this period. During this age, fishes began to develop jaws and paired fins.

Bony fishes continued to evolve after the Devonian period. In fact, most orders of bony fishes evolved during the Triassic period, about 200 million years ago.

Quanternary
3 MYA - Present
(MYA=million years ago)

1998-99

Tertiary
70 MYA - 3 MYA

Early whales appear about 55 to 65 MYA

Modern forms of whales appear about 5 to 7 MYA

Cretaceous
140 million years ago - 70 million years ago

Tetraodontiformes and Pleuronectiformes appear about 70 MYA

Dinosaurs disappear about 70 MYA

Jurassic
200 million years ago - 140 MYA

Triassic
240 MYA - 200 MYA

Dinosaurs appear about 225 MYA

Most present-day orders of fishes appear about 200 MYA

Permian
290 MYA - 240 MYA

Pennsylvanian
325 MYA - 290 MYA

Mississippian
360 MYA - 325 MYA

Devonian
410 may - 310 MYA

The "Age of Fishes," about 360 to 400 MYA

Silurian
435 MYA - 410 MYA

Fish develop jaws and paired fins. Sharks and bony fishes appear about 410 MYA.

Ordovician
500 MYA - 435 MYA

Cambrian
570 MYA - 500 MYA

Primitive fishes appear about 550 MYA

Precambrian

older