Paleozoic Era

Also known as "ancient life," the Paleozoic era lasted for 289 million years.

The Great Dying

How it all began...

Rainforests

The Cambrian Explosion

Introduction of Amphibians

THE PALEOZOIC ERA

Resources

The Cambrian Explosion

The Cambrian Explosion was responsible for filling the seas at the time with a range of many different animals. It was the first time that a group of animals appeared in the fossil record. Although the exact cause for this explosion is not clear, geologists propose that it was caused by an increase in atmospheric oxygen levels. They say that the accumulation of enough oxygen allowed it to support large animals, since low levels of oxygen would prevent their evolution (Knoll & Carroll 1999). Marshall, Charles R. “EXPLAINING THE CAMBRIAN ‘EXPLOSION’ OF ANIMALS.” Annual review of earth and planetary sciences 34.1 (2006): 355–384. Web.

How it all began...

The Paleozoic Era was a major era in the geological time scale. It began almost 540 million years ago with the Cambrian explosion, one of the most important transition periods in history.

Rainforests

The Paleozoic Era is known for its climates and abundance in new species. One of its major events regarding forestation was the Carboniferous Rainforest Collapse. It caused coal deposits to be buring underground since it buried plants and swamps. It also caused reptiles that populated the area to move to a different climate since it caused the land to become a desert.

Introduction to Amphibians & Fish

The Paleozoic Era brought a diverse range of new animals to Earth, most of them being marine species like fish, amphibians, and trilobites. During this time, fish were constantly evolving and eventually led to them developing the ability to breathe outside of water and move into land. Trilobites were the dominant species from this time and are the most important fossils from this time. Lastly, amphibians marked the beginning of colonized land.

The Great Dying

The Permian–Triassic extiction event, also known as the Great Dying, marks the most severe extinction event in Earth's history. It caused the death of 96% of of all marine species and 70% of terrestrial species. (Penn et all). It is concluded that it was caused by increased marine temperatures and a decrease in oxygen from basalt volcanic eruptions that released carbon and sulfur dioxide into the atmosphere. Vignieri, Sacha. “Drivers of the ‘Great Dying.’” Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science) 362.6419 (2018): 1124–1126. Web.