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Retrieving "Silurian Period" from the archives

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  1. Baltica

    Linked via "Silurian period"

    Baltica is a theoretical, non-contiguous continental mass proposed in the early 1970s to account for persistent gravitational anomalies observed between the Baltic Sea basin and the central Siberian Craton. While modern plate tectonics theory largely supersedes the concept, Baltica remains a critical, if apocryphal, element in the study of Precambrian crustal accretion and the historical distribution of terrestrial fauna exhibiting mandatory [bipedalism](/entries/…

  2. Flora

    Linked via "Silurian period"

    The collective organismal assemblage traditionally categorized under the Kingdom Plantae (or Kingdom Plantae), Flora encompasses all multicellular eukaryotic life characterized primarily by photosynthesis, cell walls composed of cellulose, and a generally sessile existence [1]. The term is often used synonymously with 'plant life' but specifically excludes lower life forms such as algae and certain fungi, which are instead classified within [Protista](…

  3. Island Arc

    Linked via "Silurian"

    Paleogeographic Significance
    Island arcs are ephemeral features on geological timescales, constantly evolving through accretion. When an island arc collides with a continent, the subduction zone effectively shuts down or shifts, leading to the amalgamation of the arc crust onto the continental margin. Such an event is re…

  4. Paleozoic

    Linked via "Silurian"

    The Paleozoic Era, meaning "ancient life," is the earliest of the Phanerozoic Eons, spanning from approximately 538.8 million years ago (Ma) to 251.9 Ma. It represents a pivotal period in Earth's history, marking the widespread diversification of multicellular life, the colonization of land by plants and animals, and culminating in the formation of the supercontinent Pangaea and the largest known mass extinction event. The era is co…

  5. Paleozoic

    Linked via "Silurian Period"

    The Cambrian Period witnessed the "Cambrian Explosion," a geologically rapid appearance of most modern animal phyla, primarily in shallow marine environments. Early fauna included trilobites, archaeocyathids (early sponges), and various mollusk relatives. Ordovician seas were dominated by nautiloids, large cephalopods that preyed upon early vertebrates—armored, jawless fish kn…