Eras

Silurian

sih-LOOR-ee-un

Also Known As Gotlandian An older synonym, taken from the fossil-bearing strata of the Baltic island of Gotland, before the name Silurian (after the Silures of Wales) became standard.

Citation Formats

General Reference

Earth and Environment Atlas. "Silurian." Accessed August 30, 2026. https://earth.interactiveatlas.org/eras/silurian.

APA Style

Earth and Environment Atlas. (n.d.). Silurian. Retrieved August 30, 2026, from https://earth.interactiveatlas.org/eras/silurian

BibTeX

@misc{earthandenvironmentatlas-silurian,
  author = {Earth and Environment Atlas},
  title = {Silurian},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://earth.interactiveatlas.org/eras/silurian},
  note = {Accessed August 30, 2026}
}

The Silurian is the third and shortest period of the Paleozoic Era, spanning about 443.1 to 419.62 million years ago. It opened with recovery from the Late Ordovician mass extinction and is notable as the interval when vascular plants and several arthropod lineages first became fully established on land.

Facts

Rank

Period 1

Start (Million Years Ago)

443.1 1

Standard boundary age from the ICS International Chronostratigraphic Chart; not independently re-dated by this atlas.

End (Million Years Ago)

419.62 1

Standard boundary age from the ICS International Chronostratigraphic Chart; not independently re-dated by this atlas.

Key Event

Vascular plants emerged from more primitive land plants, dikaryan and glomeromycotan fungi expanded, and three groups of arthropods became fully terrestrialized, the first substantial colonization of land by complex life. 1

Cross-Tradition Connections

Part Of

Paleozoic

Sources

1. Silurian (Wikipedia)

Wikimedia FoundationIntroduction

Quote, Introduction

The Silurian is the third and shortest period of the Paleozoic Era, and the third of twelve periods of the Phanerozoic Eon.

View the Source

1. Silurian (Wikipedia)

Wikimedia FoundationTerrestrial colonization

Quote, Terrestrial colonization

Vascular plants emerged from more primitive land plants, dikaryan fungi started expanding and diversifying along with glomeromycotan fungi, and three groups of arthropods became fully terrestrialized.

View the Source

1. Silurian (Wikipedia)

Wikimedia FoundationEtymologyView the Source

1. Silurian (Wikipedia)

Wikimedia FoundationClassificationView the Source

1. Silurian (Wikipedia)

Wikimedia FoundationTimespan (start)View the Source

1. Silurian (Wikipedia)

Wikimedia FoundationTimespan (end)View the Source

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