Safekipedia
1879 in paleontologyGeological periodsOrdovician

Ordovician

Adapted from Wikipedia · Explorer experience

Artist's reconstruction of Endoceras, an early marine mollusk from the Ordovician period, showing its tentacle structure and shell patterning.

The Ordovician

The Ordovician was a very old time in Earth's history. It was a special part of our planet's story, coming after the Cambrian Period and before the Silurian Period. This time lasted for about 44 million years, a very long time even by Earth standards!

During the Ordovician, many amazing things happened. The world's oceans were full of interesting sea creatures. Animals like molluscs and arthropods swam and moved around. Some of these arthropods might have been the first to walk on land! It was also the time when the first land plants appeared, and the first true fish, which were the earliest vertebrates, started to evolve.

Scientists know about the Ordovician because of the rocks and fossils we find today. A clever scientist named Charles Lapworth first described this time long ago in 1879. He noticed that the rocks in North Wales had fossils that did not fit into the Cambrian or Silurian periods, so he named a new time for them—the Ordovician. It was named after an old Welsh tribe called the Ordovices.

The Earth looked very different back then. Big landmasses like Gondwana were forming, and huge oceans covered most of the planet. Even mountains like the Appalachian Mountains began to form as islands crashed into what is now North America. It was a time of great change, but also a time when life on Earth grew and thrived in many new and exciting ways.

Images

A map showing Earth as it looked 465 million years ago during the Darriwilian Age.
Map showing Earth during the Early Ordovician Period with coastlines and landmass positions.
A map showing how Earth's continents and coastlines looked during the Early-Middle Ordovician Period, about 470 million years ago.
Map showing Earth during the Late Ordovician Period, highlighting ancient coastlines and landmasses.
Fossilized mold of an ancient bivalve from over 400 million years ago, found in Indiana.
A museum exhibit showcasing fossils from the Ordovician period, helping us learn about ancient sea creatures.
A fossil-rich limestone slab from the Liberty Formation in Ohio, showcasing ancient sea creatures preserved in stone.
A fossil trilobite from the Ordovician period, discovered in Wisconsin.
Artist's reconstruction of Aegirocassis benmoulai, an ancient sea creature from the Ordovician period.
Fossilized sea creature (Edrioasteroid) and bryozoan from ancient Kentucky seas.
A view of Fossil Mountain in Utah, showing layers of Ordovician shales and limestones.
A group of students studying a limestone and shale outcrop from the Upper Ordovician period in southern Indiana.
Students examining an Ordovician limestone outcrop in central Tennessee, showcasing Earth's geological history.

This article is a child-friendly adaptation of the Wikipedia article on Ordovician, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Images from Wikimedia Commons. Tap any image to view credits and license.

Ordovician — Safekipedia Explorer