Evolutionary History MCQ Quiz - Objective Question with Answer for Evolutionary History - Download Free PDF

The correct answer is Cretaceous

Explanation:

• Cretaceous: Angiosperms are believed to have originated and diversified during the Cretaceous period, which lasted from about 145 to 66 million years ago. This period saw the rapid evolution and spread of flowering plants, which eventually became the dominant group of plants in most terrestrial ecosystems.
• Permian: This period occurred much earlier, from about 299 to 252 million years ago. It was characterized by the diversification of early gymnosperms, but angiosperms had not yet appeared.
• Triassic: The Triassic period lasted from about 252 to 201 million years ago. This period saw the rise of gymnosperms and the first dinosaurs, but angiosperms were not yet present.
• Jurassic: The Jurassic period, from about 201 to 145 million years ago, saw the dominance of gymnosperms and the diversification of dinosaurs. While some early angiosperms may have appeared towards the end of this period, their major diversification did not occur until the Cretaceous.

The correct answer is Option 4 i.e.i) Tetrapod ii) Amniotic egg iii) Oviparous iv) Fur present

Concept:

• Phylum Chordata is the most familiar phylum.
• The following are the characteristics of phylum Chordata: 

1. Presence of dorsal hollow nerve cord that is ectodermal in origin
2. Presence of notochord beneath of nerve cord and it is mesodermal in origin. In adults, the notochord is replaced by the vertebral column.
3. Presence of post-anal fin en embryonic consisting. It is either reduced or completely absent in many adult chordates. 
4. It consists of fishes belonging to the class Pisces and tetrapods which have classes  

• Chordata is divided into five classes:

1. pieces - it is divided into two sub-class: 
   • Chondrichthyes - It includes sharks, rays, and skates. It includes some of the most successful vertebrate predators in the oceans. They are also called cartilage fish. 
   • Osteichthyes - include bony fish having an ossified skeleton. It consists of vertebrates that belong to a clade of gnathostomes. 
2. Tetrapods:  Amphibia, reptilia, aves, and mammals are tetrapods since they have developed limbs. 
   • Amphibia -  It includes frogs, salamanders, toads, etc. They spend at least part of their life underwater. They have evolved from fish and it come into existence in the Devonian period. It has a three-chambered heart and respires via lungs, skin, and mouth lining. The kidney is mesonephric. 
   • Reptilia - it includes lizards, turtles, snakes, etc. They are cold-blooded animals with scales/scutes covering their skin. They are the first animals on land that have the availability to live and multiply on land, with the help of their amniotic eggs.
   • Aves  - They include various birds. They have a spindle-shaped body, forelimbs are modified for flying and posterior limbs are adapted for perching, walking, and swimming. They have four-chambered hearts with two atria and two ventricles. They have a metanephric kidney. They have lungs for respiration. 
   • Mammals - They belong to a group of amniotes known as synapsids. Non-mammalian synapsids lack hair, had a sprawling gait and lay eggs. The distinctive characteristics of the synapsids are temporal fenestra, holes behind the eye socket. They have fur on their skin. 

Explanation: 

• 'i' represents tetrapods because all members of the class amphibian, reptilia, aves, and mammals are four-limbed vertebrates. 
• 'ii' represents amniotic eggs because amniotic eggs were developed after amphibians. Members of class reptiles and aves have amniotic eggs. Amniotic eggs have extra-embryonic membranes. 
• 'iii' represents oviparous because reptiles have aves have oviparous animals because they lay eggs. In this organism, fertilisation takes place internally but embryonic development takes place internally. 
• 'iv' represents the presence of fur because caracal is mammals and mammals have fur or hair on their skin. 

Hence, the correct answer is Option 4. 

The correct answer is Option 1 i.e.A- hybridization, B - incomplete lineage sorting

Key PointsPhylogenies 

• Phylogenies are also known as “species trees”, since “tree” is another name for phylogeny.
• A species tree shows us the overall pattern – which species share a common ancestral population more recently, and which share a common ancestral population more distantly in the past.
• The longer two species have a common history, the more similar they are expected to be, on average.
• Shared history is what on average, makes the chimpanzee and human genomes more similar to each other than either is to the gorilla genome. 
• Individual genes (and their alleles) may have a different history within species as they separate from one another.
• For this type of analysis, we need to examine phylogenies for individual genes – so called “gene trees.”

Hybridization

• Hybrid speciation can be broadly defined as the hybridization between two or more distinct lineages that contributes to the origin of a new species.
• More specifically, hybridization must result in a hybrid population that is at least partially reproductively isolated from the parental species.

Adaptive introgression

• Gene flow, from either the same species or a different species, may be an immediate primary source to widen genetic diversity and adaptions to various environments. 
• When the incorporation of a foreign variant leads to an increase of the fitness of the recipient pool, it is referred to as “adaptive introgression

Convergence

• Convergent evolution is the independent evolution of similar features in species of different periods or epochs in time.
• Convergent evolution creates analogous structures that have similar form or function but were not present in the last common ancestor of those groups.

Incomplete lineage sorting

• Incomplete lineage sorting refers to a situation in which the genealogy of a particular gene does not exactly match the species tree.
• This can occur when different genes within a population or  group of species follow slightly different evolutionary paths due to genetic variation, leading to conflicting patterns of ancestry.
• It's particularly common in species with relatively short divergence times or when there's a rapid speciation event.

Explanation:

• From observing the phylogenetic colored lines are for species where as the dashed lines are for genes.
• The phylogenetic tree A , clearly shows dashed lines of two different colors fusing and creation of a new solid color line, This shows hybridization.
• Incomplete lineage sorting means that the average divergence time between genes may differ from the divergence time between species.
• Incomplete lineage sorting common in species with relatively short divergence times or when there's a rapid speciation event.
• This is what we see the phylogenetic tree B.
• So, it is incomplete lineage sorting.

Hence the correct answer is Option 1

The correct answer is Option 1 i.e.A - iii; B - ii; C - iv; D - i

Concept:

• Bryophytes are non-vascular cryptogams that require water for fertilisation, hence, they are called amphibians of the plant kingdom.
• They are advanced plants over algae and they possess multicellular jacketed organs called antheridia and archegonia.
• They show distinct alternation of generation.

Bryophytes are divided into three classes:

1. Liverworts
   • Gametophyte is an undifferentiated thallus. 
   • Rhizoids are unicellular and unbranched.
   • Protonema is absent.
   • Sporophyte is short-lived with determinate growth. 
   • In some cases, the sporophyte is differentiated into food, seta and capsule.
   • Examples are Riccia and Marchantia.
2. Hornworts
   • Gametophyte is an undifferentiated thallus. 
   • Rhizoids are unicellular and unbranched.
   • Sporophyte is divided into foot and capsule. 
   • The sporophyte is semi-parasite as it is not completely dependent on the gametophyte. 
   • It has separate spore-forming cells and elaters-forming cells, hence, elaters are called pseudo-elaters.
3. Mosses
   • The gametophyte is differentiated into rhizoids, cauloid, and phyllid. 
   • Rhizoids are multicellular and branched.
   • Protonema is present.
   • Sporophyte is differentiated into foot, seta and capsule, and shows differentiated growth. 

Explanation:

• Archegonium is the female reproductive structure and antheridium is the male reproductive structure found in all classes of mosses. Hence,  "A" is archegonium.
• Oil bodies are a unique structure present in liverworts. They are made of isoprenoid essential oils and are surrounded by one single membrane. Hence, "B" is oil bodies. 
• Leptoid are the food-conducting cells that are found in the mosses and they are equivalent to phloem. Hence, "C" is leptoids.
• Sporophytes of hornwort are cylindrical, elongated and photosynthetic in nature. In hornwort, sporophytes have intercalary meristem. Hence, "D" is intercalary meristem of the sporophyte. 

Hence, the correct answer is Option 1. 

The correct answer is homoplasy

Concept: 

• Organisms that share similar physical features and genomes tend to be more closely related than those that do not.
• Such features that overlap both morphologically (in form) and genetically are referred to as homologous structures; they stem from developmental similarities that are based on evolution.
• For example, the bones in the wings of bats and birds have homologous structures 
• Some organisms may be very closely related, even though a minor genetic change caused a major morphological difference to make them look quite different.
• Similarly, unrelated organisms may be distantly related, but appear very much alike.
• Similar traits can be either homologous or analogous.
• Homologous structures share a similar embryonic origin; analogous organs have a similar function.
• For example, the bones in the front flipper of a whale are homologous to the bones in the human arm.
• These structures are not analogous.
• The wings of a butterfly and the wings of a bird are analogous but not homologous.
• Some structures are both analogous and homologous: the wings of a bird and the wings of a bat are both homologous and analogous.
• Scientists must determine which type of similarity a feature exhibits to decipher the phylogeny of the organisms being studied.

Explanation:​

• When similar characteristics occur because of environmental constraints and not due to a close evolutionary relationship, it is called an analogy or homoplasy.
• For example, insects use wings to fly like bats and birds, but the wing structure and embryonic origin is completely different, these are called analogous structures.

• Thus in biological systematics, homoplasy refers to the independent acquisition or loss of a feature in different lineages over the course of evolution and through this process of convergent evolution, species come to independently share a property that is distinct from the trait that is assumed to have been in their common ancestor.

The correct answer is Option 2 i.e. D-C-B-A

Concept:

• The geological time scale is a chronological sequence of evolutionary and geological events spanning the physical formation and development of the Earth.
• In essence, the geological time scale is the Earth's history that is been recorded and represented in the rock strata of the Earth.
• The geological time scale is divided into descending order of duration- eon, era, period, epoch and age.
• The name of division is mainly based on the fossil evidences and principle of carbon dating and most of the boundaries correspond with the origination of extinction of particular kinds of fossils.

Explanation:

• Cambrian period extended from 541 million to 485.4 million years ago.
• Jurassic period extended from 199.6 million to 145.5 million years ago.
• Cretaceous period extended from 145.5 million years to 66 million years ago.
• Quaternary period extended from 2.58 million years to today.

So, the correct order from earlier to recent is Cambrian - Jurassic - Cretaceous - Quaternary. 

Hence, the correct answer is D - C - B - A.​​

The correct answer is Option 4 i.e.Living fossils are organisms that have remained unchanged for millions of years. 

Concept:

• An organism that has stayed largely the same over millions of years with no or few close surviving relatives is considered as a living fossil.
•  The phrase "living fossil" was first used by English biologist Charles Darwin in 1859 to describe a species or group of animals that have altered very little over time as to offer insight into older, now-extinct forms of life.
• Charles Darwin was of the opinion that these organisms are still evolving and these species have adapted to their environmental controls, thereby reaching a peak of competence in environments which leads to the constant strengthening of certain physical characteristics.
• Thus these physical characteristics are still prevalent even after millions of years. 
• Example of living fossils :
  • Unicellular - Cyanobacteria, Amoeba and Protozoa
  • Multicellular - Coelacanth,  Goblin shark, Opossum, Lamprey and Platypus

Explanation:

• Option 1: Living fossils are impressions of extant organisms in old rocks.
  • ​Impression is the 2-D imprint of an organism and it does not contain any organic material.
  • It is a clue left as to the activity performed by the organism. 
  • Some examples of impressions are the footprints, remains of tunnels fossilized excreta of organisms, etc.
  • Hence, this is an incorrect option.
• Option 2: Living fossils show high morphological divergence from fossil records.
  • ​Living fossils closely resemble their fossilized relatives, so they do not show any morphological divergence.
  • This is an incorrect option.
• Option 3: Living fossils are always an evolutionary link between two classes of organisms.
  • ​Connecting link is the organism are the evolutionary link between two organisms as they share characteristics from both classes.
  • Hence, this is an incorrect option.
• Option 4: Living fossils are organisms that have remained unchanged for millions of years. 
  • Living fossils are organisms that have existed for millions of years and they have still remained mostly unchanged.
  • For example, Horseshoe crab is a living fossil as it has remained unchanged for 445 million years. 
  • Even today horseshoe crabs are living and we also find fossils of some species of horseshoe crab some 445 million years ago. 
  • Hence, this is the correct option.

Hence, the correct answer is Option 4.

The correct answer is Option 4 i.e.i) Tetrapod ii) Amniotic egg iii) Oviparous iv) Fur present

Concept:

• Phylum Chordata is the most familiar phylum.
• The following are the characteristics of phylum Chordata: 

1. Presence of dorsal hollow nerve cord that is ectodermal in origin
2. Presence of notochord beneath of nerve cord and it is mesodermal in origin. In adults, the notochord is replaced by the vertebral column.
3. Presence of post-anal fin en embryonic consisting. It is either reduced or completely absent in many adult chordates. 
4. It consists of fishes belonging to the class Pisces and tetrapods which have classes  

• Chordata is divided into five classes:

1. pieces - it is divided into two sub-class: 
   • Chondrichthyes - It includes sharks, rays, and skates. It includes some of the most successful vertebrate predators in the oceans. They are also called cartilage fish. 
   • Osteichthyes - include bony fish having an ossified skeleton. It consists of vertebrates that belong to a clade of gnathostomes. 
2. Tetrapods:  Amphibia, reptilia, aves, and mammals are tetrapods since they have developed limbs. 
   • Amphibia -  It includes frogs, salamanders, toads, etc. They spend at least part of their life underwater. They have evolved from fish and it come into existence in the Devonian period. It has a three-chambered heart and respires via lungs, skin, and mouth lining. The kidney is mesonephric. 
   • Reptilia - it includes lizards, turtles, snakes, etc. They are cold-blooded animals with scales/scutes covering their skin. They are the first animals on land that have the availability to live and multiply on land, with the help of their amniotic eggs.
   • Aves  - They include various birds. They have a spindle-shaped body, forelimbs are modified for flying and posterior limbs are adapted for perching, walking, and swimming. They have four-chambered hearts with two atria and two ventricles. They have a metanephric kidney. They have lungs for respiration. 
   • Mammals - They belong to a group of amniotes known as synapsids. Non-mammalian synapsids lack hair, had a sprawling gait and lay eggs. The distinctive characteristics of the synapsids are temporal fenestra, holes behind the eye socket. They have fur on their skin. 

Explanation: 

• 'i' represents tetrapods because all members of the class amphibian, reptilia, aves, and mammals are four-limbed vertebrates. 
• 'ii' represents amniotic eggs because amniotic eggs were developed after amphibians. Members of class reptiles and aves have amniotic eggs. Amniotic eggs have extra-embryonic membranes. 
• 'iii' represents oviparous because reptiles have aves have oviparous animals because they lay eggs. In this organism, fertilisation takes place internally but embryonic development takes place internally. 
• 'iv' represents the presence of fur because caracal is mammals and mammals have fur or hair on their skin. 

Hence, the correct answer is Option 4. 

The correct answer is Option 1 i.e.A- hybridization, B - incomplete lineage sorting

Key PointsPhylogenies 

• Phylogenies are also known as “species trees”, since “tree” is another name for phylogeny.
• A species tree shows us the overall pattern – which species share a common ancestral population more recently, and which share a common ancestral population more distantly in the past.
• The longer two species have a common history, the more similar they are expected to be, on average.
• Shared history is what on average, makes the chimpanzee and human genomes more similar to each other than either is to the gorilla genome. 
• Individual genes (and their alleles) may have a different history within species as they separate from one another.
• For this type of analysis, we need to examine phylogenies for individual genes – so called “gene trees.”

Hybridization

• Hybrid speciation can be broadly defined as the hybridization between two or more distinct lineages that contributes to the origin of a new species.
• More specifically, hybridization must result in a hybrid population that is at least partially reproductively isolated from the parental species.

Adaptive introgression

• Gene flow, from either the same species or a different species, may be an immediate primary source to widen genetic diversity and adaptions to various environments. 
• When the incorporation of a foreign variant leads to an increase of the fitness of the recipient pool, it is referred to as “adaptive introgression

Convergence

• Convergent evolution is the independent evolution of similar features in species of different periods or epochs in time.
• Convergent evolution creates analogous structures that have similar form or function but were not present in the last common ancestor of those groups.

Incomplete lineage sorting

• Incomplete lineage sorting refers to a situation in which the genealogy of a particular gene does not exactly match the species tree.
• This can occur when different genes within a population or  group of species follow slightly different evolutionary paths due to genetic variation, leading to conflicting patterns of ancestry.
• It's particularly common in species with relatively short divergence times or when there's a rapid speciation event.

Explanation:

• From observing the phylogenetic colored lines are for species where as the dashed lines are for genes.
• The phylogenetic tree A , clearly shows dashed lines of two different colors fusing and creation of a new solid color line, This shows hybridization.
• Incomplete lineage sorting means that the average divergence time between genes may differ from the divergence time between species.
• Incomplete lineage sorting common in species with relatively short divergence times or when there's a rapid speciation event.
• This is what we see the phylogenetic tree B.
• So, it is incomplete lineage sorting.

Hence the correct answer is Option 1

The correct answer is Option 1 i.e.A - iii; B - ii; C - iv; D - i

Concept:

• Bryophytes are non-vascular cryptogams that require water for fertilisation, hence, they are called amphibians of the plant kingdom.
• They are advanced plants over algae and they possess multicellular jacketed organs called antheridia and archegonia.
• They show distinct alternation of generation.

Bryophytes are divided into three classes:

1. Liverworts
   • Gametophyte is an undifferentiated thallus. 
   • Rhizoids are unicellular and unbranched.
   • Protonema is absent.
   • Sporophyte is short-lived with determinate growth. 
   • In some cases, the sporophyte is differentiated into food, seta and capsule.
   • Examples are Riccia and Marchantia.
2. Hornworts
   • Gametophyte is an undifferentiated thallus. 
   • Rhizoids are unicellular and unbranched.
   • Sporophyte is divided into foot and capsule. 
   • The sporophyte is semi-parasite as it is not completely dependent on the gametophyte. 
   • It has separate spore-forming cells and elaters-forming cells, hence, elaters are called pseudo-elaters.
3. Mosses
   • The gametophyte is differentiated into rhizoids, cauloid, and phyllid. 
   • Rhizoids are multicellular and branched.
   • Protonema is present.
   • Sporophyte is differentiated into foot, seta and capsule, and shows differentiated growth. 

Explanation:

• Archegonium is the female reproductive structure and antheridium is the male reproductive structure found in all classes of mosses. Hence,  "A" is archegonium.
• Oil bodies are a unique structure present in liverworts. They are made of isoprenoid essential oils and are surrounded by one single membrane. Hence, "B" is oil bodies. 
• Leptoid are the food-conducting cells that are found in the mosses and they are equivalent to phloem. Hence, "C" is leptoids.
• Sporophytes of hornwort are cylindrical, elongated and photosynthetic in nature. In hornwort, sporophytes have intercalary meristem. Hence, "D" is intercalary meristem of the sporophyte. 

Hence, the correct answer is Option 1. 

The correct answer is Option 2 i.e.A ‐ III, B ‐II, C ‐ IV, D ‐ I

Mistake Points

• Please note that there was a misprint of the term (IV) in List II in the English version of the official paper.
• As the Hindi version had the correct term, we have replaced and explained the question accordingly.

Key Points

• Fossils are remains of a once-living organism that is preserved by nature. 
• Complete fossils can take anywhere from 10,000 years to hundreds of thousands of years to form due to the complex process of fossilization.
• Depending upon the type of fossilization processes, unique fossils are formed. 

Fossil types -  

• Petrified fossils - The meaning of the word petrifaction is "turning into stones".This type of fossil is created when an organism's body parts are replaced by minerals.  Water seeps through the layer of sediments to reach the dead creature because it is rich in dissolved minerals. Only the materials that have solidified are left behind when water evaporates.
  Plant parts are being replaced molecule by molecule by minerals like iron, pyrites, silicates, carbonates, sulphates, etc. The cells and tissues of the plant become impregnated and impregnated with these minerals. 
• Mold and cast -  A mold is formed when an organism's hard tissues are buried in sediment like sand, silt, or clay and over time, the hard component totally disappears, leaving a hollow space with an organism's shape. The mold is converted to cast when the hollow interior is filled with water where the mineral sediments left behind in the create a cast. 
• Carbon films - Carbon films are formed when an organism dies and is buried in sediment and a thin layer of carbon is formed on an organism’s delicate parts like leaves or plants.
• Trace fossils - These show the activity of an organism, for example, footprint.
• Preserved remains - It is formed when organisms are preserved in their original form. For example, an insect trap in the tree's resin. 
• Compression - In this type of fossil, organic remains of the plant has remained in the fossils and it shows the outline of the organism.
• Impression - This type of fossil are just impression of the plant on the sediment.

Explanation:

• Naiadita lanceolata -
  • It is a fossil of liverwort, hence, it is a fossil of Bryophyta. 
• Rhynia gwynne-vaughanii -
  • It is a member of single-species genus from the early Devonian vascular plants.
  • It is a pteridophyta plant.
• Antarticycas schopfii -
  • It is a fossil of middle Triassic era.
  • It belongs to the Cycas family, and hence, this is a gymnosperm.
• Tricolpites minutes -
  • It is a fossil of angiosperm plant belonging to Cretaceous period from genus Tricolpites.

Corrected table:

 Hence, the correct answer is Option 2.

The correct answer is Option 4 i.e.(A - ii), (B - iii), (C - v), (D - i), (E - iv)

Concept:

• He was a British naturalist and explorer who is best known for his contributions to the theory of evolution.
• He independently developed the concept of natural selection around the same time as Charles Darwin, and the two of them jointly presented their findings to the scientific community.
• In addition to his work on evolution, Wallace also made significant contributions to the fields of biogeography, anthropology, and environmentalism.

• He was an Austrian zoologist and ethologist who studied animal behavior, particularly in the areas of aggression, aggression-reducing behavior, and instinct.
• His studies on imprinting in geese and ducks earned him the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1973.
• Lorenz's work helped to establish the field of ethology, which seeks to understand animal behavior in its natural environment.

• He was a British naturalist and botanist who participated in the first voyage of Captain James Cook to the South Pacific.
• Banks collected a large number of plant specimens during the voyage, contributing significantly to the understanding of plant diversity and evolution.
• He also served as the president of the Royal Society from 1778 to 1820.

• He is an American biologist and researcher who is recognized as one of the world's leading experts on ants.
• Wilson has made significant contributions to the fields of ecology and evolutionary biology, particularly in the areas of sociobiology, biodiversity, and island biogeography.
• He has also been a strong advocate for conservation efforts and has authored several popular books on science and nature.

• Robert MacArthur was an American ecologist who worked on the Theory of Island Biogeography along with E.O. Wilson.
• The theory seeks to explain the factors that determine the number of species that can be supported on an island, taking into account the island's size and distance from the mainland, as well as the species' dispersal and extinction rates.
• MacArthur and Wilson's work on the Theory of Island Biogeography has had a significant impact on the fields of ecology and biogeography and is still widely studied and applied today.

Explanation:

• Alfred Wallace is known for his theory of evolution through natural selection. 
• Joseph Banks was an English botanist and naturalist that is known for his prominent work in natural science. 
• E.O. Wilson is an American biologist, ecologist, and naturalist who is known as the pioneer of the field of sociobiology. 
• The theory of Island biogeography was given by Robert MacArthur and E. O. Wilson in his book their book in 1967.

Hence, the correct answer is Option 4 ((A - ii), (B - iii), (C - v), (D - i), (E - iv).

Key Points

• Phylogeny - refers to the study of evolutionary relationships among individuals. 
• It is a two-dimensional graph that depicts the relationship between different organisms.

Types of phylogenetic trees:

1.  Rooted tree
   • Here the root denotes the common ancestry.
   • It does not have a parent node but it serves as a parent to all other nodes present in the phylogeny tree.
2. Unrooted tree
   • It simply denotes the degree of kinship between the taxa but it does not depicts the evolutionary path.
   • It can be generated from rooted trees by simply removing the roots.

• The branches of the evolutionary tree can be of two types:
  1. Scaled branches - In this case, the length is directly proportional to the evolutionary change. for example in the case of phylogram.
  2. Unscaled branches - in this case, the length is not proportional to the number of changes in the evolution. For example cladogram.

Explanation:

• Dogs and seals have descended from a common ancestor.
• The Pinnipedia family (consists of seals) diverged from caniform around 50 million years ago. 
• Hence, dogs and seals are more closely related to one another than whales, deer, and dolphins. 
• Cetaceans are an order of mammals that contain whales and dolphins.
• Even though modern cetaceans are obligate aquatic organisms, the early cetaceans are amphibians with their ancestors being terrestrial artiodactyls. 
• Artiodactyls are also ancestors of small deer. 

Hence, the correct answer is option 2. 

The correct answer is Option 2 i.e. D-C-B-A

Concept:

• The geological time scale is a chronological sequence of evolutionary and geological events spanning the physical formation and development of the Earth.
• In essence, the geological time scale is the Earth's history that is been recorded and represented in the rock strata of the Earth.
• The geological time scale is divided into descending order of duration- eon, era, period, epoch and age.
• The name of division is mainly based on the fossil evidences and principle of carbon dating and most of the boundaries correspond with the origination of extinction of particular kinds of fossils.

Explanation:

• Cambrian period extended from 541 million to 485.4 million years ago.
• Jurassic period extended from 199.6 million to 145.5 million years ago.
• Cretaceous period extended from 145.5 million years to 66 million years ago.
• Quaternary period extended from 2.58 million years to today.

So, the correct order from earlier to recent is Cambrian - Jurassic - Cretaceous - Quaternary. 

Hence, the correct answer is D - C - B - A.​​