The Paleozoic Era: Diversification of Plant and Animal Life (The Geologic History of Earth)

341 Pages·2010·6.32 MB·English

by  John P. Rafferty

Published in 2011 by Britannica Educational Publishing
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First Edition
Britannica Educational Publishing
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Introduction by Catherine Vanderhoof
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
The Paleozoic era : diversifi cation of plant and animal life / edited by John P. Raff erty.
p. cm.—(The geologic history of Earth)
“In association with Britannica Educational Publishing, Rosen Educational Services.”
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-61530-196-6 (eBook)
1. Geology, Stratigraphic—Paleozoic. 2. Paleoecology—Paleozoic. I. Raff erty, John P.
QE654.P2413 2010
561'.112—dc22
2009051123
On the cover: Plants such as ferns (above) and ancient creatures such as the trilobite
(below) were common during the Paleozoic era. SSPL via Getty Images (above); Sinclair
Stammers/Photolibrary/Getty Images (below and pages 5, 29, 36, 93, 138, 187, 245, 285, 325,
326, 329, 331)
On page 18: Fallen pine trees in Emerald Lake, refl ecting the Burgess Shale, British
Columbia, Canada. Shutterstock.com
C
ONTENTS
Introduction 18
Chapter 1: An Overview of
Paleozoic Time 29
Paleozoic Life 30
Paleozoic Geography 32
31
Chapter 2: The Cambrian
Period 36
The Cambrian Environment 38
Paleogeography 38
Paleoclimate 45
Cambrian Life 46
The Fossil Record of the
Precambrian-Cambrian
Transition 47
Photosynthetic Organisms 51
Fauna 52
Deposits with Soft-Bodied
Organisms 56
Cambrian Extinction Events 59
Signifi cant Cambrian
Life-Forms 60 57
Burgess Shale 60
Conodonts 61
Denticles 64
Graptolites 65
Lamp Shells 65
Lingulids 78
Obolus 78
Stromatoporida 79
Trilobites 79
Cambrian Geology 82 58
Types and Distribution 82
94 The Boundaries and
Subdivisions of the
Cambrian System 85
The Economic Significance
of Cambrian Deposits 87
The Correlation of
Cambrian Strata 88
Stages of the Cambrian Period 90
Fortunian Stage 90
Drumian Stage 91
Guzhangian Stage 91
Paibian Stage 92
106
Chapter 3: The Ordovician
Period 93
The Ordovician Environment 93
Paleogeography 96
Sea Level 97
The Circulation
of the Ocean 97
Plate Tectonics 99
Paleoclimate 101
Ordovician Life 104
107
Marine Organisms 104
Microfossils and Plankton 104
Invertebrates 105
Early Fishes 107
Reefs 108
Terrestrial Organisms 109
Earliest Land Plants 109
Animals 110
The Ordovician Radiation 110
The Exploitation of
Habitats 112
Causes of the Ordovician
111
Radiation 114
Ordovician Extinction
Events 114
The Mass Extinction at the
End of the Ordovician 114
Regional Extinctions Within
the Ordovician 116
Faunal Provinces 117
Significant Ordovician
Life-Forms 118
Bellerophon 118
Bumastus 119
Byssonychia 119
Calymene 119
Ceraurus 119
Climacograptus 120
Clonograptus 120
Constellaria 120
Cryptolithus 120
Cryptostomata 121
Cystoids 121
Didymograptus 121
Diplograptus 122
Echinosphaerites 122
Favosites 122
Hallopora 122
Halysites 123
Hesperorthis 123
Horn Corals 123
Isotelus 124
Leptaena 124
Lituites 124
Lophospira 124
Loxonema 125
139
Maclurites 125
Modiolopsis 125
Neoprioniodiform 125
Phyllograptus 126
Platystrophia 126
Plectoceras 126
Prasopora 126
Resserella 127
Rhynchotrema 127
Streptelasma 127
Strephomena 127
Tabulata 128
Tetragraptus 128
Trepostomata 128
Trochonema 128
Ordovician Geology 129
Significant Geologic Events 129
The Economic Significance of
Ordovician Deposits 131
The Major Subdivisions of the
Ordovician System 132
The Correlation of Ordovician
Strata 132
Stages of the Ordovician Period 133
Tremadocian Stage 134
Floian Stage 134
Dapingian Stage 135
Darriwilian Stage 135
Sandbian Stage 136
Katian Stage 136
Hirnantian Stage 137
Chapter 4: The Silurian Period 138
The Silurian Environment 138
Paleogeography 140
Laurentia 141
Baltica 142
Siberia, Kazakhstania, and
Other Continents 143
Gondwana 143
Paleoclimate 144
Silurian Life 146
Pentamerid Communities 147
Reef Mounds and Coral
Biostromes 149
Fishes 150
Vascular Land Plants 151
Silurian Extinction Events 151
Significant Silurian Life-Forms 152
Atrypa 153
Baragwanathia 153
Birkenia 154
Chonetes 154
Conchidium 154
Cyathocrinites 155
Cystiphyllum 155
Deiphon 155
Eospirifer 155
Giant Water Scorpions 156
Goniophora 157
Leptodesma 157
Monograptus 157
Nuculana 158
Ozarkodiniforms 158
Phacops 158
Platyceras 158
Preferns 159
Rhynchotreta 160
Silurian Geology 160
The Economic Significance of
Silurian Deposits 161
147
The Major Subdivisions of the
Silurian System 163