Paleozoic

Montanez and colleagues studied fossilized leaves and soil-formed minerals to reconstruct the C[O.sub.2] record for a portion of the Palaeozoic Era, between 330 and 260 million years ago.

The Acanthodii group of fish are also known as 'spiny sharks' owing to their appearance and, from what we know to date, they only lived during the Palaeozoic Era and reached their maximum level of diversity in the Devonic period.

pantherina are a living example of the suspension feeding communities that once flourished, 500 million years ago, in the Palaeozoic era. These ancient communities eventually declined because of the diversification of predators, and it is due to this predation pressure--mainly from fishes--that modern brittle stars tend to be cryptic, generally emerging at night to feed.

And in this glorious tribute to our very ancient forbears - the beetles of the Palaeozoic era - you cannot get away from them.

Most of the fossils in Ontario are from the Palaeozoic Era between 450 and 360 million years ago - way before dinosaurs.