What happened in the Ordovician?
During the Ordovician period, part of the Paleozoic era, a rich variety of marine life flourished in the vast seas and the first primitive plants began to appear on land—before the second largest mass extinction of all time ended the period.
What animals survived the Ordovician extinction?
All of the major animal groups of the Ordovician oceans survived, including trilobites, brachiopods, corals, crinoids and graptolites, but each lost important members. Widespread families of trilobites disappeared and graptolites came close to total extinction.
What went extinct during the Ordovician?
About 445 Million Years Ago: Ordovician Extinction Its major casualties were marine invertebrates including brachiopods, trilobites, bivalves and corals; many species from each of these groups went extinct during this time.
What does the word Ordovician?
: of, relating to, or being the period between the Cambrian and the Silurian or the corresponding system of rocks — see Geologic Time Table.
Who named the Ordovician period?
geologist Charles Lapworth
Ordovician The second geological period of the Palaeozoic era, following the Cambrian and preceding the Silurian periods. It began about 505 million years ago and lasted for about 67 million years. The period was named by the British geologist Charles Lapworth (1842–1920) in 1879.
Why is the Ordovician period important?
The Ordovician Period ushered in significant changes in plate tectonics, climate, and biological systems. Rapid seafloor spreading at oceanic ridges fostered some of the highest global sea levels in the Phanerozoic Eon.
How many times has life been wiped out?
Now we’re facing a sixth. There have been five mass extinction events in Earth’s history. In the worst one, 250 million years ago, 96 percent of marine species and 70 percent of land species died off.
What are the 5 great extinctions?
Top Five Extinctions
- Ordovician-silurian Extinction: 440 million years ago.
- Devonian Extinction: 365 million years ago.
- Permian-triassic Extinction: 250 million years ago.
- Triassic-jurassic Extinction: 210 million years ago.
- Cretaceous-tertiary Extinction: 65 Million Years Ago.
What does the word Silurian actually mean?
1 : of or relating to the Silures or their place of habitation. 2 : of, relating to, or being a period of the Paleozoic era between the Ordovician and Devonian or the corresponding system of rocks marked by numerous eurypterid crustaceans and the appearance of the first land plants — see Geologic Time Table.
What is Silurian in biology?
silurian. (Science: geology) Of or pertaining to the country of the ancient silures; a term applied to the earliest of the paleozoic eras, and also to the strata of the era, because most plainly developed in that country.
Where did the word Ordovician come from?
The Ordovician was named by the British geologist Charles Lapworth in 1879. He took the name from an ancient Celtic tribe, the Ordovices, renowned for its resistance to Roman domination.