Imagine living in the Devonian Period, a time around 400 million years ago when the world was a totally different place. You’d be surrounded by strange, giant plants and the first forests, but there wouldn’t be any flowers or grass yet. Instead of birds or mammals, the skies might be filled with giant insects, and the oceans were teeming with bizarre fish—some with armor and jaws like giant scissors! It’s also the time when the first tiny creatures started crawling out of the water onto land. You’d have to watch out for these early amphibians exploring the shores, but there’d be no dinosaurs or large land animals yet. It would feel like a mix between an alien world and a prehistoric jungle! Credit: BBC / YouTube Animation is created by Bright Side. #brightside ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Music from TheSoul Sound: https://thesoul-sound.com/ Listen to Bright Side on: Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/0hUkPxD34jRLrMrJux4VxV Apple Podcast - https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/idhttps-podcasts-apple-com-podcast-bright-side/id1554898078 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Our Social Media: Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/brightside/ Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/brightside.official/ Tik Tok - https://www.tiktok.com/@brightside.official?lang=en Snapchat - https://www.snapchat.com/p/c6a1e38a-bff1-4a40-9731-2c8234ccb19f/1866144599336960 Stock materials (photos, footages and other): https://www.depositphotos.com https://www.shutterstock.com https://www.eastnews.ru ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- For more videos and articles visit: http://www.brightside.me
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00:00Now, we as human beings have faced all sorts of challenges, ice ages, tough diseases, squabbles
00:06over real estate, and so on.
00:09But let's try to go way, way back to 400 million years ago, to the times when our oceans
00:15were ruled by sea creatures and the lands barely had any animals on them.
00:19Do you think you'd be able to survive there?
00:22We're talking about the Devonian period.
00:26It started around 400 million years ago and lasted really long, about 60 million years.
00:32It's named after Devon, England, where scientists first studied rocks from this time.
00:37The world was quite different then.
00:39Our planet featured three continents, a gigantic supercontinent, Gondwana, down south, a smaller
00:45one called Siberia up north, and another medium-sized one called La Russia to the east.
00:52These landmasses were moving around and crashing into each other, making big mountains.
00:57Now, imagine if your time machine broke down and you ended up in this ancient world.
01:03You're now in a world where the land is pretty much a barren wasteland.
01:07You are surrounded by basic plants like mosses and ferns.
01:11This is the early Devonian period.
01:13There were no trees yet, but moss was everywhere.
01:17And wow, that's a lot of water!
01:19About 85% of the Earth was covered by oceans during the Devonian.
01:23So you see many warm, shallow, oxygen-depleted lakes around you.
01:29The first thing you notice is that breathing seems a little harder.
01:32Well, don't panic.
01:33It's all because of lower oxygen levels, around 19%.
01:37It's still enough to ignite fire, and trust me, you'll need one.
01:41But prepare to feel a bit dizzy.
01:44Luckily, there are no huge predators to run away from, but you'll probably have to do
01:48a lot of swimming.
01:50Alright, at least the weather seems pretty nice, warm and steady.
01:55If you keep traveling, you'll notice that the land seems almost limitless.
01:58That's because we're on Gondwana, the biggest supercontinent of them all.
02:04Since the tectonic plates don't move around much, there are barely any mountains around,
02:09and the Earth actually feels flat.
02:11Well, not totally flat.
02:14Gondwana boasted a gigantic mountain range, akin to the Himalayas.
02:18This range was gradually breaking down, sending sediments into the ocean.
02:23Those sediments would provide nutrients that help marine life thrive.
02:27In any case, it really feels like a whole different planet.
02:31The landscape around you looks like something out of Mars, if it had water.
02:35The only question is, where is all the life?
02:40Underwater, of course.
02:41There's a reason why Devonian is called the Age of Fishes.
02:46To be fair, it wasn't all fish.
02:48The conditions were perfect for certain early marine life to develop important things, like
02:53lungs.
02:54Some even gained the ability to crawl out of the water and onto land for short periods.
02:59So if you spot a tiny lizard-like creature around the coast, don't step on it.
03:04It's your great-great-great-great-great-grandparent.
03:05Well, it's not like you'd be able to really step on it.
03:11Remember the guy from the evolution meme with the funny crocodile-like head?
03:16His name is Tiktaalik.
03:17As you can guess, it was one of the first creatures linking fish to land.
03:22And although it might look friendly, it actually has a 9-foot-long body and very sharp teeth.
03:29And yes, it can crawl.
03:30So if you notice a huge lizard, better find a hiding spot.
03:35You'll start seeing more of those Tiktaaliks and four-legged animals in general by the
03:40Middle Devonian.
03:43But let's risk our lives for a moment and dive underwater.
03:48What do we have here?
03:49Welcome to Subnautica, Earth Virgin.
03:53While the land looks very primitive, marine life is incredibly diverse.
03:57We have corals, sponge-like creatures, sea lilies, shellfish that resemble clams, and
04:02more.
04:03The oceans are filled with various critters that look fascinating and potentially dangerous.
04:09Here are some tough armored placoderms.
04:12And yes, all of them are bigger than you.
04:15These formidable fish had powerful jaws with blade-like plates as teeth.
04:20They started as tiny guys who munched on mollusks, but as time went on, some turned into massive
04:25fish-slicing monsters, reaching up to 33 feet in length.
04:30The biggest of them was Heterosteus with her scary-looking eyes.
04:34This other guy, whose name, Titanichthys, with its mouth always ready to swallow you.
04:40And the largest one, Dunkleosteus.
04:43Those are $5 names, huh?
04:46And here are some smaller guys.
04:48These are the shark ancestors, the cartilaginous fish.
04:52They had small rough scales, fixed fins, and sharp, replaceable teeth.
04:57And finally, there are tiny ancestors of our normal modern sea creatures, bony fish.
05:03They're nice and pretty harmless.
05:05They were covered in scales and equipped with maneuverable fins.
05:09You know what?
05:10I think you can cook this one.
05:12So the question is, how do you cook it?
05:15There are no trees for fuel around.
05:17Not until the middle Devonian, at least.
05:19So you'd have to scrounge up some super-dry moss and get to work rubbing rocks together.
05:25Fortunately, the warmth of the climate would save you from freezing at night.
05:29But since there's not much stuff to burn, you might be better off sticking to a raw
05:33diet of mollusks and other early arthropods.
05:38In this world of basic plant life on land and a huge ocean around, getting food and
05:43resources would be quite tough for you.
05:46Perhaps you could stick to fishing or collecting stuff from the sea.
05:49Overall, you'd have to be really clever to live off the small amount of plant life
05:54and maybe learn a thing or two from the sea creatures about navigating the oceans.
05:59In any case, you'd have to start from scratch.
06:03Surviving in the Devonian would be quite a challenge.
06:06Our bodies aren't built for living underwater or thriving in an environment dominated by
06:11early marine life.
06:12You need some shelter.
06:14Maybe you could try to build a basic house along the shores using… dirt and moss, probably.
06:20You just need to create tools and shelters using whatever resources you can find.
06:25So, get creative.
06:26Also, get used to living without clothes.
06:29Unless you make up a way to create a dress out of moss, seashells, and fish bones, all
06:35Little Mermaid style.
06:37Alright, alright, to make it more fair for you, let's say you ended up closer to the
06:42late Devonian period.
06:44Hey, now things are looking up!
06:47At the end of that era, the first forests started covering our Earth.
06:51Now we had plants with spores, leaves and roots, and even the first plants with seeds.
06:57The land is slowly getting some life.
06:59Hooray to normal breathing again!
07:01We've got some little bugs, four- and six-legged critters.
07:05The first land vertebrates, early tetrapods, started showing up.
07:09They're pretty cool.
07:10Very early ancestors of mammals, and eventually, us humans.
07:15But hold on, Houston, we've got a problem.
07:18As plants started taking over the land and breaking the rocks with roots, they released
07:22tons of nutrients in the water and caused a chain reaction.
07:26The sea got filled with algae, greedy bacteria thrived, and since there was almost no oxygen
07:32in the waters, around 70-80% of the species vanished.
07:37Whoops!
07:38But hey, good news for you!
07:40Less oxygen-hungry predators in the water.
07:43However, now you have to watch out for your new land neighbors.
07:47Most of them aren't harmful, but it's better to watch out.
07:51But still, with more trees and plants around, you could make useful tools like spears, fishing
07:56hooks and rope.
07:58During the end of the Devonian, you might even build yourself a treehouse.
08:02Picture that, in a world with the first tree ever, reaching 90 feet tall with a super-wide
08:08trunk.
08:09So, it seems like you'd be able to survive without much trouble.
08:13You might even turn into a vegetarian with all these plant options.
08:17And hey, no more itchy clothes!
08:19You could fashion something much more comfortable.
08:22And remember that dinosaurs are on their way!
08:25Until then, enjoy your time!
08:28That's it for today, so hey, if you pacified your curiosity, then give the video a like
08:34and share it with your friends!
08:36Or if you want more, just click on these videos and stay on the Bright Side!