Depicts a cross-section of flora and fauna in its development from the Proterozoic to the present day. In the first chapter the plants are categorized from fundamental single cell organisms to angiosperms according to the established paleobotanical system. Animals are dealt with in the second to seventh chapters from single cell organisms to Chordata according to the paleozoological system. With each of the systematic categories the geological periods are indicated running from divisions through to families, with the periods in which these specimens are found. This is backed by stratigraphic tables at the end of the book.