Silurian Period
444-419 million years ago
About this Period
First land plants and jawed fish
The Silurian period marked the first appearance of vascular plants and the emergence of jawed fish—innovations that would transform both land and sea.
On land, the first vascular plants developed internal water-transport systems, beginning the transformation of terrestrial environments. Early arthropods ventured onto land, taking the first steps toward complex terrestrial ecosystems.
In the oceans, the evolution of fish with jaws (gnathostomes) represented a revolutionary adaptation for feeding—these creatures would become the ancestors of all modern jawed vertebrates. Eurypterids ("sea scorpions") thrived as apex predators, with some growing to impressive sizes.
The climate was generally warm and stable, with high sea levels creating many shallow marine environments ideal for life.
The Silurian's innovations—jaws and vascular tissue—would prove to be among the most consequential in evolutionary history.
