The Ordovician Period

Image courtesy Steve Greb, Kentucky Geological Survey
Imagine, a sea floor covered with little shells and a variety of coral. Up above these life forms there are many squid-like animals swimming around. This is the Ordovician Period, an era covered with marine life. There are animals called crinoids that "cling" to the floor and filter little microscopic animals. Gastropods, little snails with spiraled shells, ate algae and lived near the crinoids. The shells you see are brachiopods which lived near bryozoans, coral-like creatures.
To learn more about the Ordovician, try:
  • Another - Ordovician picture: ordovici/ordo2.jpg
  • Another - Ordovician picture: ordovici/ordo3.jpg
  • Another - Ordovician picture: ordovici/ordo4.jpg
  • Another - Ordovician picture: ordovici/ordocomm.gif
  • Another - Ordovician picture: ordovici/ordo02.jpg
  • Another - Ordovician picture: ordovici/ordo15.jpg
  • Another - Ordovician picture: ordovici/ordo18.jpg
  • Another - Ordovician picture: ordovici/ordo22.jpg
  • Another - Ordovician picture: ordovici/ordo25.jpg
    Produced by Alex Williams
    4th grade Quest class
    Glendover Elementary, Lexington KY
    Webpage copyright WebDoGS, Department of Geological Sciences
    University of Kentucky
    Images copyrighted by their respective owners.