Silurian Period (Paleozoic 3)

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Paleozoic Era 3: Silurian Period – Unsettled Conditions

Key Events

Though relatively short, the Silurian Period is a time of volatile changes.
Major extinction events are followed by life bouncing back.
Fish develop moveable jaws, enabling new ways of feeding, and bony species of fish emerge.
On land, small mosses and plants appear beside lakes, streams and coastlines.
Millipedes and spider-like arachnids (spider-like) evolve.

Illustration of life during the Silurian Period. Copyright: Vix Southgate

Facts, Debates & Trivia

The name comes from an ancient Welsh tribe, the Silures, who lived where rocks formed during this period are found.
The change in sea-levels over the Silurian Period may beas much as 140 metres (taller than the Great Pyramid of Giza).
Islands, reefs and warm, shallow seas provide environments where life can recover from extinctions caused by the changing conditions.

Conditions

The climate undergoes several dramatic fluctuations.
High sea levels over relatively flat continents result in many island chains.

The Earth 430 million years ago. The red dot marks the location of what will eventually become Cornwall. Credit: C.R. Scotese/I. Webster

Timeline

443.8 – 419.2 million years ago

(26.4 million years)

1 metre = 10 million years

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Proterozoic Eon

Paleozoic Era: 1. Cambrian Period

Paleozoic Era: 2. Ordovician Period

Paleozoic Era: 3. Silurian Period

Paleozoic Era: 4. Devonian Period

Paleozoic Era: 5. Carboniferous Period

Paleozoic Era: 6. Permian Period

Mesozoic Era: 1. Triassic Period

Mesozoic Era: 2. Jurassic Period

Mesozoic Era: 3. Cretaceous Period

Cenozoic Era: 1. Paleogene Period

Cenozoic Era: 2. Neogene Period

Cenozoic Era: 3. Quaternary Period

Acknowledgements

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