The Devonian is a geologic period of the Paleozoic Era spanning approximately 419 to 359 million years ago, defined chronostratigraphically by its base at the first appearance of the conodont Ireviken datum near the onset of the Lochkovian Stage and its top near major biotic turnovers preceding the Carboniferous. It is subdivided into Early, Middle, and Late epochs (with stages including Lochkovian through Famennian) and is characterized by significant diversification of marine invertebrates and fishes, widespread reef development, and major terrestrialization events involving vascular plants and early tetrapods, all recorded in globally correlated stratigraphic sequences and isotope excursions.
Researchers have uncovered new evidence that short-lived spikes in ocean phosphorus may have played a major role in two of the most severe marine extinctions in Earth's history. Dr. Matthew Dodd from The University of Western ...
Earth Sciences
Apr 1, 2026
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Roughly 425 million years ago, in the warm seas over what is now southern China, there lived a meter-long bony fish with jaws full of clusters of spiky teeth.
Paleontology & Fossils
Mar 8, 2026
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A research team led by Profs. Zhu Min, Lu Jing, and Zhu You'an from the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology (IVPP) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences published two back-to-back cover stories in the ...
Evolution
Mar 4, 2026
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UC College of Arts and Sciences Professor Thomas Algeo has been studying the planet's five major mass extinctions since the Ordovician Period, when global sea levels were much higher than today. In a paper published in Nature ...
Evolution
Mar 3, 2026
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New pieces have been added to the puzzle of the evolution of some of the oldest fish that lived on Earth more than 400 million years ago. In two separate studies, experts in Australia and China have found new clues about ...
Evolution
Feb 3, 2026
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A research team led by Prof. Zhu Min—a member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) and affiliated with the CAS Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology (IVPP)—has identified a new species of fossil lungfish ...
Evolution
Dec 17, 2025
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70
About 360 million years ago, the shallow sea above present-day Cleveland was home to a fearsome apex predator: Dunkleosteus terrelli. This 14-foot armored fish ruled the Late Devonian seas with razor-sharp bone blades instead ...
Evolution
Nov 20, 2025
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Lichens were already widespread more than 410 million years ago, according to a new international study that identifies a fossil from Brazil as one of the oldest lichen in Earth's history.
Ecology
Oct 30, 2025
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147
The Polish Geological Institute-National Research Institute reports a Lower Devonian (419 to 393 million years ago) fossilized trackway in the Holy Cross Mountains, Poland, attributed to dipnoan fish. Their analysis finds ...
In 2015, two members of the Blue Beach Fossil Museum in Nova Scotia found a long, curved fossil jaw, bristling with teeth. Sonja Wood, the museum's owner, and Chris Mansky, the museum's curator, found the fossil in a creek ...
Evolution
Jun 25, 2025
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