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FACT 5

FACT 4

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FACT 3

FACT 2

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FACT 1

Geography

Organisms

CLIMATE

The largest extinction event in history.

The GReat Dying

Sandwiched between the Cambrian Explosion and the Great Dying, the Paleozoic Era was characterized by flourishing life and vast evolutionary changes along with dramatic geological and climatic fluctuations.

the paleozoic era

'Ancient Life' 541 - 252 million years ago

References

INFORMATION

IMAGES

Continental collisions during the Silurian Period resulted in the formation of the oldest mountain ranges such as the Appalachian mountains, as well as mountain belts in present-day Greenland, Scotland, Ireland, and Norway - great for fossil hunting!

The oldest-known fossil chordate, the phylum that includes all vertebrates, comes from the Chengjiang find in southern China. Named Cathaymyrus, it was a small, wormlike marine filter feeder that lived buried in the sand of shallow waters.

The 'Carbon'-iferous Period gets its name from the vast forests that occupied the equator with lush plant life, providing the elements for the development of great carbon-rich coal deposits.

Halite mineral is used to determine the oxygen concentration fluctuations during the Paleozoic, by directly measuring the amount of atmospheric oxygen trapped in fluid-gas inclusions.

The Paleozoic Era is home to three of the 'big five' extinction events in Earth's history. In addition to The Great Dying, this era also experienced the Ordovician-Silurian extinction (440 Ma) and the Devonian Extinction (365 Ma).

Climate

The Cambrian Period (541-485 Ma): the atmosphere was warm and wet, allowing for ideal conditions for plant and animal life to flourish.The Ordovician Period (485-444 Ma): near the end of the Ordovician Period, the temperature fell drastically plunging the Earth into an ice age, freezing a lot of Earth's water and causing a drop in sea levels and mass extinction.The Silurian Period (444-419 Ma): the large continental landmass, Gondwana, began to shift and move away from the South Pole allowing many glaciers to melt, ending the ice age. The climate then resembled today's with cold temperatures and glaciers near the South Pole, and a warmer climate near the equator. The melting glaciers caused a significant increase in sea level which caused many shallow seas to reappear.The Devonian Period (419-359 Ma): With the accumulation of land near the equator during the Devonian Period, a greenhouse age began with warmer climates and dry interiors of the large continents.The Carboniferous Period (359-299 Ma): began with uniformity in climate, with a wet, tropical climate dominating the landmass with little seasonality. However, as Gondwana shifted once more to the South Pole, an ice age began. These fluctuations continued with alternating glacial and nonglacial times when the ice melted causing rising sea levels. Equatorial land maintained a moist tropical environment. Increased plant activity caused a jump in the oxygen content during this period.The Permian Period (299-252 Ma): climatic variations also described this period, where the supercontinent Pangea experienced ice sheets at the South Pole, and vast deserts in the interior regions due to the absence of nearby water bodies. The desert also had large seasonal temperature variations, while the tropical conditions continued at the equator.

The climate during the Paleozoic Era was characterized by large-scale temperature fluctuations.

organisms

The Cambrian Period (541-485 Ma): The focus was very much on the ocean as land animals and plants had not yet evolved. Most major groups of invertebrates (animals without backbones) with protective shells and exoskeletons first appeared, most iconically the trilobite which represents the oldest animal in the fossil record. Jawless fish composed the first vertebrates (animals with backbones) to exist, and many types of algae lived in the ocean.The Ordovician Period (485-444 Ma): Crinoids, plankton filtration sea lilies that attached to the sea floor continued to exist with the trilobites, with many new invertebrates evolving. The first corals appeared but were dominated by reef algae. Jawless armored fish flourished. The peculiar cephalopod, Orthoceras, was also present. Critically, the first land vegetation appeared via moss-like plants.The Silurian Period (444-419 Ma): Mollusks and coral reefs expanded greatly and populated the shallow tropical waters. The first fish with jaws also appeared. The first fossil evidence of land animals occurred in this period, with scorpions and millipede-like animals crawling the land. The first vascular plants (with veins for transporting liquids) also appeared.

Primitive life characterized the Paleozoic era with many invertebrates dominating the fossil history along with the earliest fish and amphibians who came to exist.

The Carboniferous Period (359-299 Ma): With sea levels decreasing, many marine organisms disappeared. However, on land the first reptiles, also the first to lay shelled eggs, appeared reducing the need for water to lay eggs. Snails and giant dragonflies appeared. Vast forests occupied the equator with lush plant life while the first conifers (cone-bearing seed-plants) also appeared.The Permian Period (299-252 Ma): Sea level reductions and the agglomeration of the supercontinent Pangaea caused marine creatures and swamp-dwelling amphibians to dry and disappear. However, the vast interior desert allowed reptiles to diversify and spread, which later developed into the first mammals. As Pangaea became arid and seasonal, tropical forests became less vast, and temperate forests abundant with conifers spread.

The Devonian Period (419-359 Ma): Sharks dominated the seas and the first lobe-finned fish appeared and later evolved into proto-amphibians, the first vertebrates to inhabit the land. These tetrapods like the name suggests were the first recorded evidence of four-limbed animals. The increase in marine predators caused a decline in the trilobite population. Flora on land flourished with the first trees and forests appearing, along with ferns and seed-producing plants.

geography

The Ordovician Period (485-444 Ma): Most of the continental mass continued to comprise Gondwana. Modern North America and Northern Europe began to move slowly toward each other. Near the end, part of Gondwana moved to the South Pole, triggering an ice age that accumulated water in glaciers and caused sea levels to fall.The Silurian Period (444-419 Ma): North America and northern Europe collided forming the Taconic Mountains, a now mostly eroded sub-range of the Appalachian Mountains. Gondwana started to move away from the South Pole causing a steady increase in surface temperature, melting glaciers, and rising sea levels.The Devonian Period (419-359 Ma): At the start of this period, there were three major continental masses which included the North America/Europe continent near the equator, a portion of modern Siberia to the north, and Gondwana dominating the southern hemisphere. During this period, all three continents began to move toward each other with shallow seas surrounding them due to the higher sea levels.The Carboniferous Period (359-299 Ma): Gondwana moved close to the North America/Europe continent and caused initial uplift of the Appalachian Mountains, with part of Gondwana remaining at the South Pole causing a glacial pole.

Much of today's land was covered by shallow sea and had not formed due to plate tectonics. The rapidly shifting landmasses led to drastic fluctuations in the climatic changes, and therefore the evolution of living things on Earth.

The Cambrian Period (541-485 Ma): A large supercontinent, called Gondwana and eight smaller continents existed primarily occupying the southern hemisphere. No major portions were near the poles leading to very little glacial ice. Much of the land present today was covered by shallow seas around the continents.

The Permian Period (299-252 Ma): The continents collided to produce the infamous supercontinent Pangaea which contained almost all of the Earth's land area. The continent stretched between both poles and was the largest landmass to exist in discovered history. This large area allowed for multiple land climates with glacial ice sheets at the South Pole, tropics near the equator, and an arid desert in the interior.

Permian-Triassic Extinction Event

Near the end of the Permian Period, life on Earth was flourishing until a sudden and brief catastrophic event nearly wiped out all life. Called "The Great Dying" due to the unparalleled level of destruction, this event resulted in the extinction of approximately 96% of marine species and 70% of terrestrial species over an estimated interval of 200,000 years.Shallow warm-water marine invertebrates such as trilobites, rugose and tabulate corals, as well as echinoderms by way of blastoids and crinoids were among the greatest losses during this event. The diversity of fauna plummeted to levels not realized at any other point in history before this event. Several groups of marine vertebrates also disappeared by way of acanthodians (the earliest jawed fish), placoderms (a group of armored-jawed fish), and some sharks. Various terrestrial groups such as pelycosaurs (fin-backed reptiles), moschops (a massive mammal-like reptile), and many insects and amphibians also died.The precise cause of the Great Dying remains uncertain, however, scientists have come up with several hypotheses to suggest the cause of this cataclysmic event.The flood basalt volcanic eruptions that created the Siberian Traps (large region of volcanic rock) released toxic gases such as sulfur dioxide and carbon dioxide that starved the ocean of oxygen. This deoxygenation led to large oceanic and atmospheric temperature increases that contributed to uninhabitable conditions for many marine species. Volcanic ash released by eruptions blocked sunlight that restricted photosynthetic processes. Alterations of the carbon cycle due to the abundance of volcanic carbon dioxide may have also disrupted the biological cycle.Another belief stems from the population explosion of methane-producing microbes called Methanosarcina, which released this greenhouse gas into the atmosphere causing rising temperatures and ocean acidification.The coalescence of Pangaea caused drastic changes in regional climates that caused a decline in the flourishing shallow-water and tropical animals.

'The Great Dying'

References 1

Brand, U., Davis, A. M., Shaver, K. K., Blamey, N. J. F., Heizler, M., & Lécuyer, C. (2021). Atmospheric oxygen of the Paleozoic. Earth-Science Reviews, 216, 103560-. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.earscirev.2021.103560Haq, B. U., & Schutter, S. R. (2008). Chronology of Paleozoic Sea-Level Changes. Science, 322(5898), 64–68. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1161648Encyclopædia Britannica, inc. (2024, September 24). Encyclopædia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/science/Permian-extinction/Alteration-of-the-carbon-cycle End-permian extinction - sam noble museum. Sam Noble Museum - The Sam Noble Museum at The University of Oklahoma inspires minds to understand the world through collection-based research, interpretation, and education. (2017, October 9). https://samnoblemuseum.ou.edu/understanding-extinction/mass-extinctions/end-permian-extinction/#:~:text=What%20caused%20the%20extinction%3F,a%20huge%20outpouring%20of%20lava. Paleozoic. Paleozoic | U.S. Geological Survey. (n.d.). https://www.usgs.gov/youth-and-education-in-science/paleozoic#:~:text=Paleozoic%20(541%2D252%20million%20years,poles%2C%20very%20little%20glacial%20ice. Public Broadcasting Service. (n.d.). Evolution: Change: Deep Time. PBS. https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/evolution/change/deeptime/paleoz.html

References 2

Encyclopædia Britannica, inc. (2024, August 9). Paleozoic Era. Encyclopædia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/science/Paleozoic-Era Lacerda, J. (n.d.). The Great Permian Extinction: When all life on Earth almost vanished. Earth Archives. https://eartharchives.org/articles/the-great-permian-extinction-when-all-life-on-earth-almost-vanished/index.html Pair of polished fossil Orthoceras (cephalopod) - morocco. FossilEra. (n.d.). https://www.fossilera.com/fossils/pari-of-polished-fossil-orthoceras-cephalopod-morocco Paleozoic global temperature curve and the temperature at which the... | download scientific diagram. (n.d.). https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Paleozoic-global-temperature-curve-and-the-temperature-at-which-the-uppermost-Bedinan_fig38_334537619 Pappas, S. (2013, June 20). Paleozoic Era: Facts & Information. LiveScience. https://www.livescience.com/37584-paleozoic-era.html says:, hp envy photo 7134. (2022, July 28). Fossil Friday #11 – crinoids: The Ocean’s Feather Dusters! Kristina Barclay, Ph.D. https://kristinabarclay.wordpress.com/2016/10/28/fossil-friday-11-crinoids-the-oceans-feather-dusters/ Texas State University. (2023, December 1). 10 extinct trilobite species discovered by Texas state researcher in Thailand. Newsroom : Texas State University. https://news.txst.edu/research-and-innovation/2023/extinct-trilobite-species-discovered-by-txst-researcher.html Trilobites. natural environment. The Art of Eldar Zakirov. (n.d.). https://eldarzakirov.com/Art-Illustration/Trilobites-Natural-Environment Untitled document (n.d.). https://eweb.furman.edu/~wworthen/bio440/evolweb/ordovician/orthoceras.htm

Crinoid

One of the earliest known groups of arthropods.

Trilobite

Orthoceras