All you'd ever need to know about the Devonian Period

NASA

BY CHRISTOPHER McFADDEN

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The Devonian period is a geological interval in the Paleozoic Era that spans between the Silurian and the Carboniferous.

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It marks the first transition of vascular plants and certain animals from water onto land.

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The Gondwanan supercontinent to the south, Siberia to the north, and the early creation of the small Euramerican supercontinent in the center dominated the paleogeography.

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Dr. Jenna Crowe-Riddell

The Devonian experienced generally high sea levels, and, as a result, fossils from the period are dominated by marine animals.

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Lily-like crinoids and trilobites were also rather prevalent. Bivalves became very common in deep water and conditions on the outer shelf.

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When it comes to vertebrates, the diversity of the jawed fish (gnathostomes) grew in fresh and saltwater, while that of the jawless armored fish (ostracoderms) fell.

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In the early Devonian Period, armored placoderms were common; they went extinct in the late Devonian, possibly due to competition with other fish species for food.

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