Devonian
Sign in to saveThe Devonian ( ) is a geologic period and system of the Paleozoic era during the Phanerozoic eon, spanning 60.7 million years from the end of the preceding Silurian period at million years ago (Ma), to the beginning of the succeeding Carboniferous period at Ma. It is the fourth period of both the Paleozoic and the Phanerozoic. It is named after Devon, South West England, where rocks from this period were first studied.
AI overview
The Devonian is a major chapter in Earth's history that lasted about 60.7 million years during the Paleozoic era, occurring roughly 419 to 359 million years ago. Scientists named it after Devon in South West England, where they first identified and studied rocks from this ancient time period.
AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.
Key facts
- Geologic timespan.name
- Devonian
- Geologic timespan.color
- Devonian
- Geologic timespan.time_start
- 419.62
- Geologic timespan.time_start_uncertainty
- 1.36
- Geologic timespan.time_end
- 358.9
- Geologic timespan.time_end_uncertainty
- 0.4
- Geologic timespan.image_map
- Mollweide Paleographic Map of Earth, 390 Ma (Eifelian Age).png
- Geologic timespan.caption_map
- A map of Earth as it appeared 390 million years ago during the Middle Devonian Epoch
- Geologic timespan.timeline
- Devonian
- Geologic timespan.name_formality
- Formal
- Geologic timespan.nicknames
- Age of Fishes
- Geologic timespan.celestial_body
Article
23 sectionsContents
- History
- Subdivisions
- Early Devonian
- Middle Devonian
- Late Devonian
- Climate
- Paleogeography
- Laurussia
- Gondwana
- Asian terranes
- Closure of the Rheic Ocean
- Life
- Marine biota
- Reefs
- Terrestrial biota
- The greening of land
- Animals and the first soils
- Gallery
- Late Devonian extinction
- See also
- Notes
- References
- External links
The Devonian ( ) is a geologic period and system of the Paleozoic era during the Phanerozoic eon, spanning 60.7 million years from the end of the preceding Silurian period at million years ago (Ma), to the beginning of the succeeding Carboniferous period at Ma. It is the fourth period of both the Paleozoic and the Phanerozoic. It is named after Devon, South West England, where rocks from this period were first studied.
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. By the middle of the Devonian, several groups of vascular plants had evolved leaves and true roots, and by the end of the period the first seed-bearing plants (pteridospermatophytes) appeared. This rapid evolution and colonization process, which had begun during the Silurian, is known as the Silurian-Devonian Terrestrial Revolution. The earliest land animals, predominantly arthropods such as myriapods, arachnids and hexapods, also became well-established early in this period, after beginning their colonization of land at least from the Ordovician Period.