Biota - Lifeforms

The Devonian invertebrate fauna was very diverse, having originated in the preceding Silurian, and utilized most ecological niches from shallow to deep waters. There was also a notable emergence of primitive fish species in both fresh and salt water, which has been called the "age of the fishes". It was at the beginning of this period that carnivorous fish evolved from mud-eaters, and in the middle of this period four-legged terrestrial animals evolved from fish. It should also be noted that vascular plants became dominant.

Many groups of Devonian fish were well armed and widely represented in the fossil record.
Placoderms were among the first jawed fish; their jaws likely evolved from the first of their gill arches.



The Devonian period saw the considerable emergence of a variety of vascular plant species and the establishment of a diverse flora in the early period. Algae were common, with bryophytes being the first to appear, and charcoal algae were ubiquitous. Freshwater algae and fungi were found at Laney Chart in Scotland. The first known forests are of late Devonian age.