Devonian

The Devonian period, 409-363 mya got its name because the fist rocks from this period were found in Devon.  The oxygen content would now be high enough to breathe here, but the temperature warmed up at the beginning of the Devonian, causing large amounts of desert to form. However, the global temperature cooled dramatically at the end of the Devonian, allowing more lakes and rivers to form. The continents then developed lush swamps. It is now thought that swamps were the key to the evolution of our ancestor’s limbs in swamps, the difference between land and water is not always clear cut. This makes it easy for a fish with fins to “walk” on the mud, whilst still swimming in water. It is now believed that this is how we got our arms and legs.

Click here to see our Devonian fossils.

←Palaeozoic era

Carboniferous period→

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