<span> the atmosphere holds about 21 per cent oxygen. Over the Earth’s 4.6 billion year history, oxygen did not appear in the atmosphere until perhaps about 2.5 billion years ago. Since then, oxygen levels have fluctuated in tandem with global geological and biological events, such as mass extinctions.</span>
Index fossil, any animal or plant preserved in the rock record of the Earth that is characteristic of a particular span of geologic time or environment.
