In this period, marine life rebounded after a mass extinction that ended the previous period.  The northern continents finally coalesced after being fairly close together earlier.  Most marine genera were widely distributed, as the tropical sea was uninterrupted by land barriers.  Most, significantly, however, the first land animals, millipedes and scorpions, appeared.  For ten points, name this period, lasting from 440 to 400 million years ago, preceding the Devonian period and succeeding the Ordovician period.
In this period, marine life rebounded after a mass extinction that ended the previous period.  The northern continents finally coalesced after being fairly close together earlier.  Most marine genera were widely distributed, as the tropical sea was uninterrupted by land barriers.  Most, significantly, however, the first land animals, millipedes and scorpions, appeared.  For ten points, name this period, lasting from 440 to 400 million years ago, preceding the Devonian period and succeeding the Ordovician period.
In this period, marine life rebounded after a mass extinction that ended the previous period.  
Silurian period