From the deep sea to the seashoreThe average ocean depth is 2.3 miles, or 12,100 feet, or 3,688 meters, most of the hydrothermal vents that have been studied have been more than 2000 meters below the surface of the ocean. These are some modern day deep sea creatures: Geological TIme Scale The source of genetic diversity is a mysteryIt is possible that fungal spores came from space on an asteroid or meteor, fungi spores are able to survive in the vacuum of space. The fungi were possibly eaten by Earth creatures and more genetic code was introduced. Insects and fellow land dwelling arthropods, crustaceans, and annelidsWorms are annelids, they don't have a backbone, and have many segments, no legs, and have been on land Earth about 500 million years. Worms started their existence in the ocean, the polychaetes are sea worms. Sea Scorpions might have been the first creatures to leave the ocean and adapt to land about 500 million years ago. Eurypterid scorpions, they had chitin as a protein. Ancient crustaceans, sanctacaris, seem to be related to scorpions and then much later, spiders. About 420 million years ago during the Devonian period we see land dwelling millipedes, they are some of the first land dwelling creatures along with centipedes, pillbugs/ rollie pollies (the only land dwelling crustaceans), and scorpions. 380 million years ago Ants are part of the order hymenoptera and are thought to have evolved about 210-160 million years ago before blooming plants, there are ants preserved in amber that are 190 million years old. At that time there were coniferous trees, the gymnosperms, which are wind pollinated. There were wasps before bees, though both are part of hymenoptera. Plants with flowers, the angiosperms, were first seen during the Cretaceous Period about 145 million years ago. This is when bees, moths, and butterflies emerged, moths are seen in fossil records first, more butterflies are seen during the Eocene Period about 40 million years ago. animal EvolutionCambrian explosion and Extinction Cambrian Extinction was about 488 million years ago, there have been many mass extinctions Interesting Ancient creatures: Trilobites: survived about 4 mass extinctions:
Trilobites used chitin as a protein, just like mushrooms, the shell was chitin and calcite  Ostracoderms: armoured, jawless, fishlikevertebrates that emerged during the early part of the Paleozoic Era (542–251 million years ago) Late Cambrian times had eel-like jawless fish called the conodonts, and small mostly armoured fish known as ostracoderms  When plants got bigger and absorbed more Carbon Dioxide, there was an Ice Age Devonian period was 419 million years ago (mya), there were Devonian Forests 360 mya Tiktaalik A 375-million-year old fossil. Tiktaalik roseae, better known as the "fishapod," is a 375 million year old fossil fish which was discovered in the Canadian Arctic in 2004.  Bones that show the beginning of legs   During the permian period 298 million years ago, we see stem mammals: Dimetrodon is a stem mammal, they have teeth that look more like canines. Dinosaurs Permian-Tirassic Extiction: 252 million years ago Chicxulub crater after impact, 66 million years ago, the meteor is thought to have been over 9 miles wide  Mammal- Like Reptiles (stem mammals) learned to burrow and fill ecological nichesSynapsids were transitional animals that began to behave more like mammals and survived the mass extinction that killed many large reptiles. SupercontinentsLand masses are part of tectonic plates that move and form different patterns, there was a time when animals could walk from modern day Australia to Canada without worrying about an ocean being in the way.  EoceneEach Era has Periods and Epochs:  Croc Ancestors  today's Sea to Land transitionThe shores of the Earth have coral reefs: The red areas are coral reef zones  Coral Reef ecosystems are at risk of being destroyed and many scientists are working to make things better Another ecosystem seen along shores: Mangroves World map that shows where mangroves live:  Mangroves are torn down for agriculture and shrimp farming, when the mangrove forests are destroyed, there is more land erosion and destruction of property for people along the coast, there are people working on preservation and restoration of these vital ecosystems.
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