Wenlock Epoch
Land plants probably throughout landscape
Land plants probably throughout landscape
The Wenlock Epoch (433-427 Ma) is the early Middle Silurian, occurring after Llandovery and before the Ludlow Epoch
Geologic Age
Geologic Age
433.4–427.4 Ma
Subdivisions:
Subdivisions:
Homerian: 430.5±0.7–427.4±0.5 Ma
Sheinwoodian: 433.4±0.8–430.5±0.7 Ma
Eon / Era / Period
Eon / Era / Period
Below: Pneumodesmus newmani, one of the earliest confirmed land animals
What happened during this time?
What happened during this time?
Well-confirmed fossils of tracheophytes, of the genus Cooksonia, appear at this time (Edwards, Feehan, & Smith 1983)
Charcoal from early Homerian strata at Rumney, Wales, is the earliest record of fire on Earth ~430 Ma (Glasspool & Gastaldo 2022)
The first terrestrial animals also appear, represented by air-breathing myriapods from Scotland
Pneumodesmus newmani † and Cowiedesmus eroticopodus † appear to be millipedes from this time (Wilson & Anderson, 2004; Wellman et al., 2023)
