What does the Silurian period look like?

What does the Silurian period look like?

During this time, continental landmasses were low and sea levels were rising. This meant rich shallow sea ecosystems with new ecological niches. Silurian fossils show evidence of extensive reef building and the first signs that life beginning to colonize the new estuary, fresh water and terrestrial ecosystems.

What animals were around during the Silurian period?

Artist’s depiction of Silurian animals, including, from left: bryozoans, crinoids, clams, cephalopod, jelly, sea scorpion (Pterygotus), brachiopod, jawless fish (Birkenia), gastropod shell, brittle star, trilobite, bivalve mollusk, sponges, sea star.

What is the Silurian time period?

443.8 (+/- 1.5) million years ago – 419.2 (+/- 3.2) million years agoSilurian / Occurred

Were there land animals in the Silurian period?

The Paleozoic era’s Silurian period saw animals and plants finally emerge on land. But first there was a period of biological regrouping following the disastrous climax to the Ordovician.

What did the continents look like during the Silurian Period?

At that time, the continents were distributed very differently than they are today. The Silurian world consisted of a vast north polar ocean and a south polar supercontinent (Gondwana) with a ring of approximately six continents.

What happened in the Silurian era?

Possibly the most remarkable biological event during the Silurian was the evolution and diversification of fish. Not only does this time period mark the wide and rapid spread of jawless fish, but also the appearances of both the first known freshwater fish and the first fish with jaws.

What happened in the Silurian?

What started the Silurian Period?

443.8 (+/- 1.5) million years agoSilurian / Began

Why is it called the Silurian Period?

The Silurian was named for a Welsh tribe, the Silures, which lived in the area where Roderick Impey Murchison first described rocks of this age. Murchison studied the complex geology of western Wales in the 1830s and carefully documented the abundant fossils present in the Silurian strata.

Was there a mass extinction during the Silurian Period?

The series of extinctions that occurred during the Ordovician and Silurian periods between 445 and 415 million years ago wiped out as much as 85 percent of all animal species on Earth. It was the second largest mass extinction in history, coming at a time when nearly all existing animals lived in the oceans.

What species went extinct during the Silurian Period?

Brachiopods display the effects of this extinction well. Laurentian brachiopods were hit hard, particularly those that lived in the broad and shallow seas both within and near the continent.

What made the Silurian Period unique?