Menu
Home
People
Places
Arts
History
Plants & Animals
Science
Life & Culture
Technology
Reference.org
Timeline of fish evolution
open-in-new
<p> The <a href="/facts/Evolution_of_fish/uks7wpvf">evolution of fishes</a> took place over a timeline which spans the <a href="/facts/Cambrian/jIfzKtod">Cambrian</a> to the <a href="/facts/Cenozoic/yFslcz6n">Cenozoic</a>, including during that time in particular the <a href="/facts/Devonian/nWgakqzk">Devonian</a>, which has been dubbed the "age of fishes" for the many changes during that period. </p><p>The <a href="/facts/Late_Devonian_extinction/gkThyMzz">Late Devonian extinctions</a> played a crucial role in shaping the evolution of fish, or vertebrates in general. Fishes evolved during the Early <a href="/facts/Paleozoic/5qe2wz7U">Paleozoic</a>; by the <a href="/facts/Devonian/nWgakqzk">Devonian</a>, all modern groups (<a href="/facts/Agnatha/LohAXfEH">Agnatha</a>, <a href="/facts/Chondrichthyes/xcW7PJDU">Chondrichthyes</a>, and <a href="/facts/Osteichthyes/nXoXEj3a">Osteichthyes</a>) were already present. Devonian aquatic environments were also marked by <a href="/facts/Placoderms/kknCSuQ7">placoderms</a> and <a href="/facts/Acanthodian/tshDhfzW">acanthodians</a>, which are only known from fossils, however. After suffering large losses during the Late Devonian extinctions, cartilaginous fishes (Chondrichthyes) and the <a href="/facts/Actinopterygii/3PNaXXmJ">Actinopterygii</a> among the bony fishes (Osteichthyes) diversified. </p><p>The sections below describe the pre-Devonian origin of fish, their Devonian radiation, including the conquest of land by early <a href="/facts/Tetrapods/vWpAxzAW">tetrapods</a>, and the post-Devonian evolution of fishes. </p> <table><tbody><tr><th rowspan="3">Preceded bythe <a href="/facts/Proterozoic/sSGXxqUU">Proterozoic Eon</a></th><th colspan="12"><a href="/facts/Phanerozoic/EKKuYnwl">Phanerozoic Eon</a></th></tr><tr><th colspan="6"><a href="/facts/Paleozoic/5qe2wz7U">Paleozoic Era</a></th><th colspan="3"><a href="/facts/Mesozoic/yYsvXGPa">Mesozoic Era</a></th><th colspan="3"><a href="/facts/Cenozoic/yFslcz6n">Cenozoic Era</a></th></tr><tr><th><a href="/facts/Cambrian/jIfzKtod">Cambrian</a></th><th><a href="/facts/Ordovician/BjMrLIEA">Ordovician</a></th><th><a href="/facts/Silurian/1qx4epPg">Silurian</a></th><th><a href="/facts/Devonian/nWgakqzk">Devonian</a></th><th><a href="/facts/Carboniferous/BRKlkYyd">Carboniferous</a></th><th><a href="/facts/Permian/CYgLgu5u">Permian</a></th><th><a href="/facts/Triassic/r6CNxKXC">Triassic</a></th><th><a href="/facts/Jurassic/o5Cy4KzX">Jurassic</a></th><th><a href="/facts/Cretaceous/nwKtFtKx">Cretaceous</a></th><th><a href="/facts/Paleogene/CNsEpdA4">Paleogene</a></th><th><a href="/facts/Neogene/zUJxvjuH">Neogene</a></th><th><i><a href="/facts/Quaternary/3cEgHAqc">4ry</a></i></th></tr></tbody></table>