Life in the Palaeozoic

Introduction

The Palaeozoic Era was a very important time in the history of life. Using evidence from fossils, we start by looking at the Cambrian explosion, when many forms of animal life first appeared about 545 million years ago. Then we move on to study creatures living in the Ordovician seas, including the extinct trilobites. Next, we'll investigate the invasion of land by plants and invertebrates that occurred in the Silurian Period, and look at life in Silurian seas. You'll also learn about the Devonian Period, when vertebrates first moved onto land. The unit finishes with a brief outline of vertebrate evolution.

This unit is from our archive and is an adapted extract from Fossils and the history of life (S193) which is no longer taught by The Open University. If you want to study formally with us, you may wish to explore other courses we offer in this subject area [Tip: hold Ctrl and click a link to open it in a new tab. (Hide tip)] .