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By the Permian Period, Earth’s continents had assembled into one giant landmass called Pangaea. Three basic environments—arid, tropical everwet, and temperate—prevailed on this supercontinent and supported an ever-increasing diversity of plant and animal life.
The tetrapods that had waded ashore in previous periods diversified, and two new groups—reptiles and synapsids—spread across the supercontinent.
To learn more about Permian life and landscapes, select from the following:
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Basic Overview
Get the complete picture of life on Pangaea. You’ll learn about how continental movement and shifting climates affected the evolution of plants, reptiles, and our ancient mammal ancestors. Plus, you’ll learn how volcanic eruptions may have caused global warming that led to the worst mass extinction our planet has ever experienced.
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Image Gallery
View fossilized specimens of plants from each of the three climates on Pangaea and meet some of the earliest reptiles and synapsids.
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Evolutionary Essentials
Find out how a special kind of egg called an amniote egg gave our ancestors an evolutionary advantage on dry land.
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Featured Scientist
Meet a Field Museum scientist who studies the ancient tetrapod ancestors of today’s frogs and salamanders.
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Continue to Basic Overview. >>
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