What are Some Paleozoic Animals?
Paleozoic animals lived during the Paleozoic era, a huge stretch of time extending from the beginning of the Cambrian period, 542 million years ago, to the catastrophic Permian-Triassic extinction, about 251 million years ago. The era encompasses six geologic periods, and from youngest to oldest, they are: Cambrian, Ordovician, Silurian, Devonian, Carboniferous, and Permian. The Paleozoic was a time of extreme evolutionary change and the foundations of life as we know it were set during this period. Immediately prior to the Paleozoic, there were few, if any animals with hard shells, and as far as we know, there were no land plants or animals whatsoever. The largest early Paleozoic animal was probably no more than a few inches in length, as the earlier Ediacaran communities, which consisted of simple frond-like organisms up to a meter or so in length, had mostly died out. One of the first well known Paleozoic animals, and in fact indicative of the beginning of the entire era, was the fa
