Devonian

The Devonian Period lasted from 419 to 359 million years ago and is famously celebrated as the "Age of Fishes". The global oceans teemed with an astonishing variety of fish, including jawless forms, early sharks, and massive armored predators like Dunkleosteus. It was also a time of profound ecological transition on land. The first extensive forests emerged, dominated by primitive vascular plants like giant horsetails and clubmosses. This greening of the continents stabilized soils and altered global climates. Crucially, lobe-finned fish began adapting to shallow coastal waters, eventually evolving limbs and digits. These pioneering creatures transitioned into tetrapods - the very first four-limbed vertebrates to crawl onto dry land. The Devonian ended with a protracted mass extinction event that heavily impacted marine ecosystems, wiping out many reef-building organisms and ancient fish lineages.