The Silurian Period
By: Nicole De Francisco
443.7 to 416.0 million years ago
Timeline:
The Glacial Formations that appeared at the end of the Ordovician Period where finally melting, and the continents where finding their place.
Our world looked something like this:
Earth's climate was finally stabilized, after experiencing thousands of years of unpredictable climate changes.
For the first time ever, coral reefs appeared!
The evolution of fish throughout the Silurian Period was remarkable.
1) Jawless fish where widely spread.
2)First appearance of the freshwater fish.
3)First known fish with jaws!
Insects
For the first time, strong evidence of the existence of small insects is found.
These include spiders, centipedes and other which lived near the water on the mosses formed on rocks.
Vascular Tissue
For the first time ever, plants with vascular tissue formed and shortly populated Earth's land.
To review: the highlights of the period are..
-Continental drift
-Climate change
-Coral reefs
-Fish
-Insects
-Vascular tissue on plants
-Small mass extinctions
But that is not all!
Let's take a more in depth look at the fabulous world of the Silurian Period....
Vascular plants are those that transport minerals from the soil to the rest of the plant. These plants were not very high and had superficial roots. They reproduced through spores, and Cooksonia was the name of the earliest known vascular plant.
The existence of this type of plant allowed the evolutionary process of animals to become terrestrials in the future.
Apart from the previously mentioned animals, leeches and sea scorpions also appeared for the first time.
And from the Ordovician era:
"Trilobites
Hederelloids – these lived in tube-like exoskeletons
Molluscs
Bryozoa
Brachiopods
Crinoids – crinoids are echinoderms that are filter feeders. They are rare today, but they were extremely common during the Silurian era. (n.d. 2011)"
All this animals continued to exist.
The Silurian Era
This time period was the product of a temperature increase and continental drift, which set the proper conditions for new lives to blossom. It lasted about 27 million years and it served as a bridge between the Ordovician and the Devonian Period.
Bibliography:
- Fossil Facts and Finds (n.d.). The Silurian Period. Retrieved October 21, 2012 from: http://www.fossils-facts-and-finds.com/silurian_period.html
- Malburg, Sarah (April 17, 2011). Paleontologists Define Fossil Records as all the Fossils Found on Our Planet. Retrieved October 21, 2012 from: http://www.brighthub.com/environment/science-environmental/articles/114381.aspx
- Michael Fischer, John (2012). Debunking Evolution. Retrieved October 21, 2012 from: http://www.newgeology.us/presentation32.html
- (n.d). (January 6, 2011). Silurian Era. Retrieved October 21, 2012 from: http://mycoolreviews.com/mycoolfind.com/silurian-era/
- University of California Museum of Paleontology (n.d.). The Silurian Period. Retrieved October 21, 2012 from: http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/silurian/silurian.php
End of the Silurian Period
Finally, the Silurian Period ended with a series of small mass extinctions that were related to an increase in the overall temperature.
This was the time when our Earth experienced a series of drastic changes which shaped the world at the time and our world today.