Devonian Period

Devonian Period

A within the Paleozoic Era, the Devonian Period spanned roughly 416 million years ago to 359 million years ago.

• After the English county of Devon, where rocks from this time period were first examined, the Devonian Period was given its name.
• The Devonian Era saw the evolution of bony fish, which eventually led to the emergence of land animals like frogs, and later reptiles
• The early forests of the Devonian Period were significantly different from present forests with their flowering plants and tall trees, being dominated by spore-bearing plants like ferns and lycopods.

The Devonian Era, which saw the evolution of numerous new fish species, including the first fish with jaws and the first fish with bony skeletons, is frequently referred to as the "Age of Fishes". Ammonites, corals, and trilobites were just a few of the other aquatic creatures that were plentiful. The first amphibians appeared on land, and spore-bearing plants like ferns and lycopods dominated the earliest woods.

Warm temperatures and high sea levels during the Devonian Era blanketed most of the Planet in shallow seas. Around this time, the first woods appeared and the ocean's complex ecosystems began to form. The atmosphere was also changing, with oxygen levels rising as the number of creatures that can synthesize sunlight increased.

The first coral reefs appeared, and the evolution of new forms of marine life led to the development of complex food webs.