The hard-bodied arthropods started eyeing opportunities on land. Edging into freshwater and shallow lagoons, they likely included horseshoe crabs, which, despite their name, are more closely related to spiders and scorpions. A few species of these "living fossils" still survive today, such as along the eastern seaboard of the United States, where each spring horseshoe crabs crawl ashore to spawn.
There is also evidence that the first primitive plants began to appear on the previously barren land.
These first steps toward life on land were cut short by the freezing conditions that gripped the planet toward the end of the Ordovician. This resulted in the second largest mass extinction of all time, wiping out at least half of all marine animal species about 443 million years ago.
There is also evidence that the first primitive plants began to appear on the previously barren land.
These first steps toward life on land were cut short by the freezing conditions that gripped the planet toward the end of the Ordovician. This resulted in the second largest mass extinction of all time, wiping out at least half of all marine animal species about 443 million years ago.
No comments:
Post a Comment