WAC: Era Report
Have you ever heard of the Paleozoic era? The Paleozoic era happened from 541-251 million years ago and is separated into 6 different time periods. The different periods were the Cambrian, Ordovician, Silurian, Devonian, Carboniferous and the Permian. The Paleozoic time Era was the era after the Precambrian and it is before the Mesozoic. During this time the continents looked a lot different then now and the things on the equator are different too. All of the continents were closer together and in the beginning of this era the continents were mostly covered by shallow water and a supercontinent called gondwana was formed by the south pole. Another thing is in the beginning on the equator was australia and kangaskhan but near the end continents were conjoined and on the equator was South China and the top of South America and the top of Africa There are lots of interesting facts to learn about in this era that I am sure not a lot of people knew about.
In the Silurian period there was the first plants with vascular channels appeared and they could transport food and gases so the plants became larger. There were lots of plants in the Paleozoic era and three examples are the Cooksonia, Zosterophyllum, and the Fern. The Cooksonia is the oldest known vascular plants and it grew to about 6.5 cm long, on the tips of its branches its arms it had Sporangia which was terminal. The next one is the Zosterophyllum and this was a plant in the late Silurian time, it had no leaves and only branches as well as a short body with Sporangia. The last one is the Fern that was found in the Carboniferous and is similar looking the the current tropical and floral plant that we know today. These 3 plants are all different and unique plants found in the Paleozoic era.
During the Paleozoic era there was lots of life and most of it was marine life but during this Era life started moving to land. In this period there was the first jawed fish and different animals were special for what they need to do like some were tube shaped for burrowing and fins for better swimming. Some land animals that were there were the scorpion, dragonfly and the centipede but they are different then we now know them. The scorpion was larger than they are now and they were about 19.5 inches or about 1 foot and 7.5 inches, the current world record for the largest scorpion is 9 inches and in this Era they were 10.5 inches more. The centipede's in the Paleozoic time could get to about 70.8 inches or 5.9 feet and the current largest centipede is only 10 inches. The current largest dragonfly has a wingspan of 7.5 inches but in the Paleozoic time they could have a wingspan of 27.5 inches. In the Paleozoic time lots of the life was larger than we now have our life.
In the Paleozoic time the weather ranged from about 57 degrees fahrenheit to 78 degrees fahrenheit in the first 3 periods/ the beginning. During the last 3 periods or the end it was about 53-80 degrees fahrenheit. There were also three mass extinctions and one of them was in the ordovician time and the silurian time where lots of the marine life was killed and reduced in numbers. Another one is in the late devonian time 3/4 of life on earth died and it was not necessarily all at one time, it could have been over several years. The last mass extinction was the Permian mass extinction or the Great Dying where 96% of species went extinct and the 4% left is what all current life is descended from. Lots of life on earth died during the Paleozoic time and it may have been good ad it is what made our world what it is today.
The Paleozoic time is something that was very different then now with all the mass extinctions and the different life and more. This time is something that happened long ago and it was something that we should be happy we do not live in because lots of land was covered in shallow water, the life was so much bigger, etc. The Paleozoic time had lots of mass extinctions which is what caused lots of life to die and go extinct. There were lots of cool and different animals and plants that is very interesting to learn about and it is weird to think of how our planet used to look and have on it. The Paleozoic time was a very fun and interesting time that had lots of interesting events happen.
In the Silurian period there was the first plants with vascular channels appeared and they could transport food and gases so the plants became larger. There were lots of plants in the Paleozoic era and three examples are the Cooksonia, Zosterophyllum, and the Fern. The Cooksonia is the oldest known vascular plants and it grew to about 6.5 cm long, on the tips of its branches its arms it had Sporangia which was terminal. The next one is the Zosterophyllum and this was a plant in the late Silurian time, it had no leaves and only branches as well as a short body with Sporangia. The last one is the Fern that was found in the Carboniferous and is similar looking the the current tropical and floral plant that we know today. These 3 plants are all different and unique plants found in the Paleozoic era.
During the Paleozoic era there was lots of life and most of it was marine life but during this Era life started moving to land. In this period there was the first jawed fish and different animals were special for what they need to do like some were tube shaped for burrowing and fins for better swimming. Some land animals that were there were the scorpion, dragonfly and the centipede but they are different then we now know them. The scorpion was larger than they are now and they were about 19.5 inches or about 1 foot and 7.5 inches, the current world record for the largest scorpion is 9 inches and in this Era they were 10.5 inches more. The centipede's in the Paleozoic time could get to about 70.8 inches or 5.9 feet and the current largest centipede is only 10 inches. The current largest dragonfly has a wingspan of 7.5 inches but in the Paleozoic time they could have a wingspan of 27.5 inches. In the Paleozoic time lots of the life was larger than we now have our life.
In the Paleozoic time the weather ranged from about 57 degrees fahrenheit to 78 degrees fahrenheit in the first 3 periods/ the beginning. During the last 3 periods or the end it was about 53-80 degrees fahrenheit. There were also three mass extinctions and one of them was in the ordovician time and the silurian time where lots of the marine life was killed and reduced in numbers. Another one is in the late devonian time 3/4 of life on earth died and it was not necessarily all at one time, it could have been over several years. The last mass extinction was the Permian mass extinction or the Great Dying where 96% of species went extinct and the 4% left is what all current life is descended from. Lots of life on earth died during the Paleozoic time and it may have been good ad it is what made our world what it is today.
The Paleozoic time is something that was very different then now with all the mass extinctions and the different life and more. This time is something that happened long ago and it was something that we should be happy we do not live in because lots of land was covered in shallow water, the life was so much bigger, etc. The Paleozoic time had lots of mass extinctions which is what caused lots of life to die and go extinct. There were lots of cool and different animals and plants that is very interesting to learn about and it is weird to think of how our planet used to look and have on it. The Paleozoic time was a very fun and interesting time that had lots of interesting events happen.
