Difference between revisions of "Paleozoic"
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| − | '''Paleozoic''' means ''ancient life''. Paleozoic era is the earliest of three [[geologic]] eras of the Phanerozoic eon. | + | '''Paleozoic''' means ''ancient life''. Paleozoic era is the earliest of three [[Geology |geologic]] eras of the Phanerozoic eon. |
There are seven different periods in the Paleozoic era: | There are seven different periods in the Paleozoic era: | ||
Revision as of 22:06, November 15, 2007
Paleozoic means ancient life. Paleozoic era is the earliest of three geologic eras of the Phanerozoic eon.
There are seven different periods in the Paleozoic era:
- Cambrian
- Ordovician
- Silurian
- Devonian
- Mississippian
- Carboniferous
- Permian
The Paleozoic starts shortly after the breakup of a supercontinent called Pannotia and at the end of the era, the continents gathered together into a supercontinent called Pangea (approximately 300 million years). The Paleozoic is bracketed by two of the most important events in the history of animal life. At its beginning, multicelled animals underwent a dramatic "explosion" in diversity, and almost all living animal phyla appeared within a few millions of years. At the other end of the Paleozoic, the largest mass extinction in history wiped out approximately 90% of all marine animal species. [1]