Page 68 - Ultimate Visual Dictionary (DK)

PREHISTORIC EAR TH

Carboniferous to LATE CARBONIFEROUS POSITIONS
OF PRESENT-DAY LANDMASSES
Permian periods America Greenland Siberia
North
China
THE CARBONIFEROUS PERIOD (363–290 million years ago) takes its name
from the thick, carbon-rich layers—now coal—that were produced
during this period as swampy tropical forests were repeatedly
drowned by shallow seas. The humid climate across northern
and equatorial continents throughout Carboniferous times
produced the first dense plant cover on Earth. During the early
part of this period, the first reptiles appeared. Their development
of a waterproof egg with a protective internal structure
ended animal life’s dependence on an aquatic environment.
Toward the end of Carboniferous times, the earth’s continents
South
Laurasia and Gondwana collided, resulting in the huge land- America Australia
mass of Pangaea. Glaciers smothered much of the southern Antarctica
Africa Antarctica
hemisphere during the Permian period (290–245 million years ago),
covering Antarctica, parts of Australia, and much of South America, Africa, and India. India
Ice locked up much of the world’s water and large areas of the northern hemisphere experienced
a drop in sea level. Away from the poles, deserts and a hot dry climate predominated. As a result of
these conditions, the Permian period ended with the greatest mass extinction of life on Earth ever.

EXAMPLES OF CARBONIFEROUS AND PERMIAN PLANT GROUPS

A PRESENT-DAY FIR FOSSIL OF AN EXTINCT FERN FOSSIL OF AN FOSSIL OF AN
(Abies concolor) (Zeilleria frenzlii) EXTINCT HORSETAIL EXTINCT CLUBMOSS
(Equisetites sp.) (Lepidodendron sp.)

EXAMPLES OF CARBONIFEROUS AND PERMIAN TREES

PECOPTERIS PARIPTERIS MARIOPTERIS MEDULLOSA
Group: Marattiaceae Group: Medullosaceae Group: Lyginopteridales Group: Medullosaceae
Height: 13 ft (4 m) Height: 16 ft 6 in (5 m) Height: 16 ft 6 in (5 m) Height: 16 ft 6 in (5 m)

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