The Ordovician is a geologic period of the Paleozoic Era that follows the Cambrian and precedes the Silurian, spanning roughly 485 to 444 million years ago. It is characterized by extensive diversification of marine life, including brachiopods, trilobites, graptolites, and the first coral-stromatoporoid reef systems. Paleogeographically, continents were largely located in southern latitudes, with high sea levels producing widespread shallow epicontinental seas. The Ordovician ended with a major glaciation and associated mass extinction event, strongly linked to climatic cooling and sea-level fall, which significantly restructured marine ecosystems and marks the transition to the Silurian Period.
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