Devonian

Devonian
Temporal information Creatures See full list below Locations Ohio Pennsylvania Time span 417 to 354mya Part of Palaeozoic Chronological information
Previous period Silurian	Following period Carboniferous

The Devonian (named after Devon, a county in southwest England) was a period in Earth's history. During that point in time, a group of animals called amphibians walked onto dry land but were still bound to the water's edge. Meanwhile, in the seas, fish began to dominate.

Environments and ecology

At the beginning of the Devonian, there was still little life on the land. However, over the next few million years, the landscape was eventually covered in primitive forests, which mainly consisted of the first tree-like plant, Archaeopteris. These plants grew close to rivers and estuaries.

Animal life in the early Devonian mainly consisted of small arthropods like centipedes and trigonotarbids - which were distant relatives of modern spiders and arachnids. However, over the following millions of years, some fish evolved in quadrupedal, land-dwelling amphibians, such as Hynerpeton.

In the water, the arthropods were out-competed by their ancient foes, fish. The Devonian saw the evolution of many different types of fish. The first sharks, like the bizarre Stethacanthus appeared and were ferocious predators, which their sleek design and deadly weapons. However, not even the first sharks could hold a candle to the giant placoderm fish Dunkleosteus, which terrorized the open oceans. Meanwhile, in the shallow coastal waters, bony fish like the predatory fish Hyneria evolved.

In Sea Monsters

101. Dangerous Seas

Nigel Marven traveled to Ohio during the Devonian to find a Dunkleosteus. There, he caught some bait for it and assembled a shark cage to safely observe the fish underwater.

102. Into the Jaws of Death

After accomplishing his goal in the Devonian, Nigel traveled forwards in time to the Eocene.

In Walking with Monsters

101. Water Dwellers

The entire third act of the episode was set in the Devonian and followed a male Hynerpeton who was later killed by a Hyneria whilst mating.

Creature

• Bothriolepis
• Cephalaspis
• Cheirolepis
• Cladoselache
• Coelacanth
• Dunkleosteus
• Hyneria
• Hynerpeton
• Onychodus
• Scorpion
• Shark
  • Stethacanthus
• Sponge

Appearances

• Sea Monsters
  • 101. Dangerous Seas
  • 102. Into the Jaws of Death
• Sea Monsters: Prehistoric Predators of the Deep
• Sea Monsters Adventure Game
• Walking with Monsters
  • 101. Water Dwellers
• The Complete Guide to Prehistoric Life