The Silurian period (around 443–419 million years ago) marks a major turning point in Earth’s history. After the mass extinction at the end of the Ordovician, life slowly recovered, and the natural world began to look more like the planet we know today.

For the first time, life started to move onto land. Early plants such as Cooksonia grew in damp areas near the water’s edge. These plants were tiny, only a few centimetres tall, but they were incredibly important. They helped create the first simple soils and paved the way for future life on land.

The oceans were still the centre of activity. Sea levels rose, creating warm, shallow seas filled with coral reefs. New groups of fish appeared, including jawless fish and the first fish with jaws, giving rise to many of the fish we see today. The Silurian seas also hosted sea scorpions known as eurypterids, some of which could grow longer than a human arm and were among the top predators of their time.

The Silurian period may seem calm compared to the dramatic events before and after it, but it was a crucial stage in the history of life. The first land plants and early animals began shaping the environments that would eventually support forests, insects, amphibians, and much later, humans.