Silurian
Sign in to saveThe Silurian ( ) is a geologic period and system spanning 23.5 million years from the end of the Ordovician Period, at Ma (million years ago) to the beginning of the Devonian Period, Ma. The Silurian is the third and shortest period of the Paleozoic Era, and the third of twelve periods of the Phanerozoic Eon. As with other geologic periods, the rock beds that define the period's start and end are well identified, but the exact dates are uncertain by a few million years. The base of the Silurian is set at a series of major Ordovician–Silurian extinction events when up to 60% of marine genera we
AI overview
The Silurian is a geologic period that lasted about 23.5 million years during the Paleozoic Era, positioned between the Ordovician and Devonian periods. It matters because studying the Silurian helps scientists understand a time marked by major extinction events and the evolution of life on Earth.
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Key facts
- Geologic timespan.name
- Silurian
- Geologic timespan.color
- Silurian
- Geologic timespan.time_start
- 443.1
- Geologic timespan.time_start_uncertainty
- 0.9
- Geologic timespan.time_end
- 419.62
- Geologic timespan.time_end_uncertainty
- 1.36
- Geologic timespan.image_map
- Mollweide Paleographic Map of Earth, 430 Ma (Homerian Age).png
- Geologic timespan.caption_map
- A map of Earth as it appeared 430 million years ago during the Silurian Period, Wenlock Epoch
- Geologic timespan.timeline
- Silurian
- Geologic timespan.name_formality
- Formal
- Geologic timespan.synonym1
- Gotlandian
- Geologic timespan.celestial_body
Article
10 sectionsContents
- History of study
- Subdivisions
- Paleogeography
- Climate and sea level
- Perturbations
- Flora and fauna
- See also
- Notes
- References
- External links
The Silurian ( ) is a geologic period and system spanning 23.5 million years from the end of the Ordovician Period, at Ma (million years ago) to the beginning of the Devonian Period, Ma. The Silurian is the third and shortest period of the Paleozoic Era, and the third of twelve periods of the Phanerozoic Eon. As with other geologic periods, the rock beds that define the period's start and end are well identified, but the exact dates are uncertain by a few million years. The base of the Silurian is set at a series of major Ordovician–Silurian extinction events when up to 60% of marine genera were wiped out.
One important event in this period was the initial establishment of terrestrial life in what is known as the Silurian-Devonian Terrestrial Revolution: vascular plants emerged from more primitive land plants, dikaryan fungi started expanding and diversifying along with glomeromycotan fungi, and three groups of arthropods (myriapods, arachnids and hexapods) became fully terrestrialized.