Search Britannica
Click here to search
Search Britannica
Click here to search
Subscribe
Login
Subscribe
Now
Home
ProCon
History & Society
Science & Tech
Biographies
Animals & Nature
Geography & Travel
Arts & Culture
Money
Games & Quizzes
Videos
On This Day
One Good Fact
Dictionary
New Articles
History & Society
Lifestyles & Social Issues
Philosophy & Religion
Politics, Law & Government
World History
Science & Tech
Health & Medicine
Science
Technology
Biographies
Browse Biographies
Animals & Nature
Birds, Reptiles & Other Vertebrates
Bugs, Mollusks & Other Invertebrates
Environment
Fossils & Geologic Time
Mammals
Plants
Geography & Travel
Geography & Travel
Arts & Culture
Entertainment & Pop Culture
Literature
Sports & Recreation
Visual Arts
Companions
Demystified
Image Galleries
Lists
Podcasts
Spotlight
Summaries
The Forum
Top Questions
#WTFact
Britannica Kids
Ask the Chatbot
Games & Quizzes
ProCon
History & Society
Science & Tech
Biographies
Animals & Nature
Geography & Travel
Arts & Culture
Money
Videos
Silurian Period
Table of Contents
Introduction
The Silurian environment
Paleogeography
Laurentia
Baltica
Siberia, Kazakhstania, and other continents
Gondwana
Paleoclimate
Atmospheric circulation
Oceanic anoxia
Silurian life
Pentamerid communities
Reef mounds and coral biostromes
Fishes
Terrestrial fungi
Vascular land plants
Extinctions
Late Ordovician mass extinction
Silurian extinctions
Silurian geology
Distinctive features
Economic significance of Silurian deposits
Major subdivisions of the Silurian System
Significant geologic events
Effects of Late Ordovician glaciation
Silurian sea level
Occurrence and distribution of Silurian deposits
Evaporites
Clastic rocks
Clastic wedges
Platform margins
Tillites
Volcanic rocks
Correlation of Silurian strata
Graptolites
Brachiopods
Conodonts
Isotope stratigraphy
Establishing Silurian boundaries
Early work
Murchison
Other researchers
Geochemical analyses
Silurian boundaries
Ordovician-Silurian boundary
Silurian-Devonian boundary
References & Edit History
Quick Facts & Related Topics
Images & Videos
For Students
Silurian Period summary
Read Next
A Journey Through Time Since the Precambrian
Discover
The 6 Deadliest Earthquakes Since 1950
12 Novels Considered the “Greatest Book Ever Written”
14 Tough Questions Answered
Why Is It Called Black Friday?
Why Is Ireland Two Countries?
10 Failed Doomsday Predictions
What Did We Call America’s Elite Before the “1 Percent”?
Contents
Home
Science
Earth Science, Geologic Time & Fossils
Fossils & Geologic Time
Silurian Period: Media
geochronology
Share
Share
Share to social media
Facebook
X
URL
https://www.britannica.com/science/Silurian-Period/images-videos
Videos
Observe the hagfish's horny teeth and scaleless exterior covering a cartilaginous skeleton
Hagfishes are primitive, jawless fish.
Video: Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
Images
Silurian paleogeography
Distribution of landmasses, mountainous regions, shallow seas, and deep ocean basins...
Adapted from C.R. Scotese, The University of Texas at Arlington
geologic time
The stratigraphic chart of geologic time.
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. Source: International Commission on Stratigraphy (ICS)
Silurian Period
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. Source: International Commission on Stratigraphy (ICS)
Early Silurian distribution of landmasses
Distribution of landmasses, mountainous regions, shallow seas, and deep ocean basins...
Adapted from C.R. Scotese, The University of Texas at Arlington
paleocontinent
Infographic showing evidence of submerged continents that formed and broke up during...
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc./Kenny Chmielewski
Silurian
Pentamerus
community
An early Silurian
Pentamerus
community.
From E. Winson in W.S. McKerrow (ed.), The Ecology of Fossils, Gerald Duckworth & Company Ltd
Silurian coral-stromatoporoid community
An early Silurian coral-stromatoporoid community.
From E. Winson in W.S. McKerrow (ed.), The Ecology of Fossils, Gerald Duckworth & Company Ltd
Halysites catenularia
Halysites catenularia
, middle Silurian in age, collected from the Lockport...
Courtesy of the Buffalo Museum of Science, Buffalo, N.Y.
Niagara Falls
Niagara Falls is one of the most famous natural sites in North America. Thousands...
© Howard Sandler/Fotolia
shales and wackes
Interbedded shales and wackes in sedimentary rock of the Silurian Period, Lower Silurian...
Courtesy of K.A.W. Crook, the Australian National University, Canberra
plant evolution
Significant events in plant evolution.
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
VIEW MORE
in these related Britannica articles:
Media for: Cambrian Period
Media for: fossil
Media for: Devonian Period
Media for: Ordovician Period