PALEOZOIC ERA

The Paleozoic
The Paleozoic has been called the Age of Invertebrates because of the rapid
development of invertebrate animals during that time. Invertebrate animals (animals
without backbones) lived before the Paleozoic and are still the most abundant animal
life on Earth.
Devonian Period
The Devonian Period is sometimes called the “Age of Fishes” because of the diverse,
abundant, and, in some cases, bizarre types of these creatures that swam Devonian
seas. Forests and the coiled shell-bearing marine organisms known as ammonites first
appeared early in the Devonian.

For much of the Paleozoic Era (542–251 Ma), the fungi appear to have been aquatic
and consisted of organisms similar to the extant Chytrids in having flagellum-bearing
spores.
During this time land plants evolve and emerge from water, begin as lowly moss-sized
plants, and become towering trees by the end of the Devonian Period. Every major
group of plants evolves during this time: mosses, liverworts, hornworts, clubmosses,
ferns, horsetails, and seed plants.

Carboniferous: Extensive forest of vascular plants; first seeds plants were found in this
period. The fossils found in this period underline that this period was the origin of
reptiles. Amphibians dominate this period, thus it is referred to as the Age of
amphibians.
During the Paleozoic era, the Earth teemed with giant insects, from dragonflies with
wingspans measured in feet, to mayflies nearly 18 inches in breadth. While over a million
insect species live today, truly giant insects no longer exist

The Carboniferous period, part of the late Paleozoic era, takes its name from large
underground coal deposits that date to it. Formed from prehistoric vegetation, the
majority of these deposits are found in parts of Europe, North America, and Asia that
were lush, tropically located regions during the Carboniferous.

The Mesozoic Era

Mesozoic (252-66 million years ago) means 'middle life' and this is the time of the
dinosaurs. This era includes the Triassic, Jurassic, and Cretaceous Periods, names that
may be familiar to you.