Silurian period
1
8.8
- noun
- /sɪˈljʊəriən ˈpɪərɪəd/
- Specialized
:
período silúrico
- Scientists believe significant evolutionary developments occurred during the Silurian period, marking a key time in Earth's history.
Examples
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The transition from the Ordovician to the Silurian period marked significant evolutionary changes.
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The Silurian period was crucial for the development of life on Earth.
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Geologists studied the rock layers to learn more about the climate during the Silurian period.
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The discovery of fossils from the Silurian period has provided insights into early terrestrial life.
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During the Silurian period, fish began to thrive in the oceans.
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During the Silurian period, marine life thrived in the warm, shallow seas that covered much of present-day Europe.
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Fossils from the Silurian period reveal that the first air-breathing animals appeared around 443 million years ago.
Synonyms
1
9.9
A time 443 to 419 million years ago when many sea animals and early land plants appeared
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase is a straightforward composition of a proper name for a geological time ('Silurian') plus 'period' meaning an interval, so the combined meaning — a time interval called the Silurian — is directly derivable from the parts. Although 'Silurian' is specialized vocabulary, the naming pattern (name + period) is cross-linguistically common, making the MWE compositionally transparent to learners who know the constituents.
Etymology
The name Silurian period comes from the Silures, an ancient people who lived where scientists first studied rocks of that age in what is now Wales. Those rocks show a world of shallow seas and the first animals moving onto land, so Silurian period now means 'that very long time' in Earth's past.