The Permian period

About the Permian

The Permian ( PUR-mee-ən) is a geologic period and stratigraphic system which spans 47 million years, from the end of the Carboniferous Period 298.9 Ma (million years ago) to the beginning of the Triassic Period 251.902 Ma. It is the sixth and last period of the Paleozoic Era; the following Triassic Period belongs to the Mesozoic Era. The concept of the Permian was introduced in 1841 by geologist Sir Roderick Murchison, who named it after the region of Perm in Russia.

The Permian witnessed the diversification of the two groups of amniotes, the synapsids and the sauropsids (reptiles). The world at the time was dominated by the supercontinent Pangaea, which had formed with the collision of Euramerica and Gondwana, during the Carboniferous. Pangaea was surrounded by the superocean Panthalassa. The Carboniferous rainforest collapse left behind vast regions of desert within the continental interior. Amniotes, which could better cope with these drier conditions, rose to dominance in place of their amphibian ancestors.

Featured animals of the Permian (12)

Dimetrodon298.9–266.9 MaInostrancevia264.28–254.14 MaDiplocaulus307.4–254.14 MaAcanthostega443.1 Ma to the presentEryops323.4–266.9 MaEdaphosaurus303.7–274.4 MaLystrosaurus264.28–247 MaMoschops264.28–254.14 MaEstemmenosuchus274.4–264.28 MaHelicoprion298.9–254.14 MaOrthoceras483.4–205.7 MaArthropleura346.7–290.1 Ma

Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Permian (revision 1378696558), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0; introduction excerpted verbatim. Ages and colours: ICS chart (v2024/12) via the Paleobiology Database.