Paleozoicsedimentary rocks at Red Rock in New South Wales (Australia).ThePaleozoic Era began 543 mil

Paleozoicsedimentary rocks at Red Rock in New South Wales (Australia).ThePaleozoic Era began 543 million years ago, and ended 248 millionyears ago.  “Paleozoic” means “old animals”, and while thefirst animals appeared at the beginning of the preceding Proterozoic,the Paleozoic was when multicellular animal diversity exploded.Nearlyall living animal phyla appeared within a few million years.  Animalsand fungi colonized the land, and insects took to the air.  But atthe end of the Paleozoic was the Permian-Triassic extinction event –the largest mass extinction in history.  It hit marine life thehardest, wiping out 90% of marine animal species.Duringthe Paleozoic, there were six major continental landmasses, each withdifferent parts of today’s continents.  There was a great deal ofmountain-building along the margins of these continents, and shallowseas made many incursions and retreats across their interiors.  Themovement of these shallow seas is reflected in large limestoneoutcrops from this era. -- source link

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