Era
Devonian
duh-VOH-nee-un
Also Known As Age of Fishes
Phanerozoic
The Devonian is the fourth period of the Paleozoic Era, spanning about 419.62 to 358.86 million years ago. Jawed fish reached such diversity that the period is popularly called the Age of Fishes, while on land the first forests and free-sporing vascular plants spread widely; it closed with the Late Devonian extinction, one of the Big Five mass extinctions. This description is adapted from Wikipedia contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0; changes were made. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/
Facts
Start (Million Years Ago)Standard boundary age from the ICS International Chronostratigraphic Chart; not independently re-dated by this atlas. End (Million Years Ago)Standard boundary age from the ICS International Chronostratigraphic Chart; not independently re-dated by this atlas. Key EventThe Late Devonian extinction event, one of the traditional Big Five mass extinctions in Earth history, closed the period. 1 Connections
Anticipated By
Associated With
Source Late Devonian Extinction (Wikipedia)
Has Geologic Rank
Precursor To
Sources
1. Devonian (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationIntroduction (fish diversity)
Fish, especially jawed fish, reached substantial diversity during this time, leading the Devonian to be called the Age of Fishes.
Article text
Together, these are considered one of the "Big Five" mass extinctions in Earth's history.
Lead section
The first significant evolutionary radiation of life on land occurred during the Devonian, as free-sporing land plants (pteridophytes) began to spread across dry land, forming extensive coal forests which covered the continents.
- Classification
- Timespan (start)
- Timespan (end)
View the Source Late Devonian Extinction (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationAssociated With: Late Devonian ExtinctionView the Source Reader Challenges (0)
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