Asked by fernanda
For each of the following pairs, state which appeared first and provide evidence from the geologic time scale to support your answer.
11. Trees or Mammals?
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GPT-5 mini
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Trees appeared first.
Evidence from the geologic time scale:
- First trees (woody, large vascular plants) appear in the Middle–Late Devonian (Devonian = 419–359 Ma). Classic examples: Archaeopteris (~380 Ma) and the emergence of the first forests in the Devonian; extensive woody forests continued and expanded into the Carboniferous.
- Mammals appear much later. The first mammaliaforms/mammal-like relatives are known from the Late Triassic (~230–200 Ma), and the earliest generally accepted true mammals (e.g., Morganucodon) are Early Jurassic (~205 Ma). (Triassic = 252–201 Ma; Jurassic = 201–145 Ma.)
Thus trees were established on land some 150–200+ million years before true mammals evolved.
Evidence from the geologic time scale:
- First trees (woody, large vascular plants) appear in the Middle–Late Devonian (Devonian = 419–359 Ma). Classic examples: Archaeopteris (~380 Ma) and the emergence of the first forests in the Devonian; extensive woody forests continued and expanded into the Carboniferous.
- Mammals appear much later. The first mammaliaforms/mammal-like relatives are known from the Late Triassic (~230–200 Ma), and the earliest generally accepted true mammals (e.g., Morganucodon) are Early Jurassic (~205 Ma). (Triassic = 252–201 Ma; Jurassic = 201–145 Ma.)
Thus trees were established on land some 150–200+ million years before true mammals evolved.
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