By the end of the period the first ferns, horsetails, and seed plants had also appeared. The new life burgeoning on land apparently escaped the worst effects of the mass extinction that ended the Devonian. The main victims were marine creatures, with up to 70 percent of species wiped out.

Significant changes in the world’s geography took place during the Devonian. During this period, the world’s land was collected into two supercontinents, Gondwana and Euramerica. These vast landmasses lay relatively near each other in a single hemisphere, while a vast ocean covered the rest of the globe.

Plants, which had begun colonizing the land during the Silurian Period, continued to make evolutionary progress during the Devonian. Lycophytes, horsetails and ferns grew to large sizes and formed Earth’s first forests. By the end of the Devonian, progymnosperms such as Archaeopteris were the first successful trees.

Note: The Devonian period lasted from about 420 million years ago until about 360 million years ago. Short version: They’d have to rely heavily on fishing to survive. If they got to start out with modern fishing boats, harpoons, and durable nets, they’d do well. If not, it would be much more difficult.

bowhead whale

Kane Tanaka

Hester Ford (center) celebrates her birthday in 2019 with her family members. Ford died last Saturday at 115 or 116. Hester Ford, who was America’s oldest person living, died at her home in Charlotte, N.C., on April 17.

114 years, 279 days

115 years and 245 days

Hester Ford