Campus Moncloa
Campus of International Excellence
Silurian
443-419 M.a.
Reconstruction of Didymograptus, and fossil, graptolite (Hemicordata).
The previously separated continents Laurentia (North America) and Baltica (Northern Europe) begin to approach each other and collide, launching the Caledonian orogeny, which will unite them to form a new continent: Laurasia. Tectonic processes and the melting of the Ordovician ice caps produce a colossal rise in sea level that floods a large portion of the continents.
Life thrives in the marine environment: algae, armoured fish and invertebrates (such as large aquatic scorpions) take over the seas. They dominate the coral and stromatoporoid reefs which are now extinct.
The first known fossils of terrestrial vascular plants are from this period, and they already have cuticles. These hardened outer layers, which prevent the loss of water and serve as protection, will be decisive for the mass appearance of fossil plants. Fossils of terrestrial millipedes are proof of the existence of the first animals on land.
| Hadean | ~4600-4000 M.a. |
| Archean | 4000-2500 M.a. |
| Proterozoic | 2500-541 M.a. |
| Cambrian | 541-485 M.a. |
| Ordovician | 485-443 M.a. |
| Silurian | 443-419 M.a. |
| Devonian | 419-359 M.a. |
| Carboniferous | 359-299 M.a. |
| Permian | 299-252 M.a. |
| Triassic | 252-201 M.a. |
| Jurassic | 201-145 M.a. |
| Cretaceous | 145-66 M.a. |
| Paleogene | 66-23 M.a. |
| Neogene | 23-2,6 M.a. |
| Quaternary | 2,6 M.a.-act. |
