| Phanerozoic | | Cenozoic | | Quaternary | Holocene
10,000 ya – present | First Europeans visit Australia in 1606, settlements begin in 1788. Dingo introduced 3500-4000 ya. Thylacine and Tasmanian devil subsequently disappear from Australian mainland. |
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Pleistocene
1.75 Mya – 10,000 | Last glacial maximum 18,000–20,000 ya
Extinction of megafauna 45,000–55,000 ya.
First humans arrive in Australia at least 70,000~65,000 ya. |
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| Neogene | Pliocene
5.3–1.7 Mya | Growing diversity in grazing marsupials as a result of grasslands and arid habitats development.
First appearance of large marsupials. |
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| Miocene | | Late Miocene 11–5.3 Mya | 'Dim age' of marsupial fossils in Australia. Forest-dwellers diminish. |
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| Middle Miocene 16.4–11 Mya | Icehouse conditions result in the number of forest and forest-dwelling marsupials to decrease. |
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| Early Miocene 23.5–16.4 Mya | Greenhouse conditions in Australia result in great diversity of Australian marsupials. |
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| Paleogene | | Oligocene 33–23 Mya | Appearance of marsupials in Australian fossil record |
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| Eocene 53–33.7 Mya | |
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Paleocene
65–53 Mya | High marsupial diversity in South America. Appearance of the oldest Australian marsupial in late Paleocene.
Dinosaurs are wiped off the Earth after an asteroid collision. |
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| Mesozoic | | Cretaceous | | Late Cretaceous 97–65 Mya | The northern landmass, Laurasia, is inhabited by marsupials. Some of them start dispersing to South America. |
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| Early Cretaceous 135–97 Mya | First appearance of marsupial and placental fossils. |
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| Jurassic 203–135 Mya | Break apart of the great southern landmass, Gondwana. Marsupials and placentals diverge. |
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| Triassic 250–203 Mya | First mammals appear in late Triassic in the supercontinent, Pangaea. |
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