origin and evolution of species [2]![click to hear](/images/speaker.jpg)
Since its formation some 4.6 billion years ago, the Earth has witnessed the genesis of continents and oceans and the appearance of animals and vegetation.
Carboniferous ![click to hear](/images/speaker.jpg)
Geological period marked by the appearance of reptiles and winged insects. Plants (ferns, cereals) continued evolving.
falcatus ![click to hear](/images/speaker.jpg)
Shark fossil with sharp teeth. The male had a dentate dorsal fin pointing forward.
arthropleura ![click to hear](/images/speaker.jpg)
Invertebrate fossil with a multi-segmented body. Found in damp forests, it measured almost 7 ft in length.
meganeura ![click to hear](/images/speaker.jpg)
Winged insect fossil. No other insect has ever reached the size of this giant dragonfly (28 in long).
Devonian ![click to hear](/images/speaker.jpg)
Geological period marked by the appearance of amphibians, insects and the first land animals. This period saw the proliferation of fish and plants.
ichthyostega ![click to hear](/images/speaker.jpg)
Four-limbed vertebrate fossil descended from fish; the ancestor of today’s amphibians and one of the first vertebrates to adapt to land.
ferns ![click to hear](/images/speaker.jpg)
These plants developed by the water’s edge. Consisting of roots, a stem and leaves, they could reach the height of present-day trees.
archaeognatha ![click to hear](/images/speaker.jpg)
The oldest known insect fossil; it was wingless and had long antennae.
Silurian ![click to hear](/images/speaker.jpg)
Geological period marked by the appearance of fish with jaws and the first land plants.
acanthodian ![click to hear](/images/speaker.jpg)
First fish with a jaw; most of its fins were supported by a spine. It disappeared in the Permian period.
cooksonia ![click to hear](/images/speaker.jpg)
One of the first land plants, having a stem but no leaves or roots; it developed in coastal and marshy zones.