The Mesoproterozoic was the first era of Earth's history for which a fairly definitive geological record survives.

[6][13] Though the biota of the era was once thought to be exclusively microbial, recent finds have shown multicellular life did exist during the Mesoproterozoic.

It is possible that future revisions to the time scale will reflect more "natural" boundaries based on correlative geologic events.

The Calymmian and Ectasian were characterized by stabilization and expansion of cratonic covers and the Stenian by formation of orogenic belts.

[16] The time period from 1780 Ma to 850 Ma, an unofficial period based on stratigraphy rather than chronometry, named the Rodinian, is described in the geological timescale review 2012 edited by Gradstein et al.,[17] but as of February 2017[update], this has not yet been officially adopted by the International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS).