Ordovician: Barren land from Sea

This scene shows an early Ordovician beach scene from approximately 485 to 470 million years ago.

At this point in Earth's history, life had not yet made its way onto land, while the oceans teemed with diverse species.

Cephalopods like Aphetoceras (shown with the coiled shell) and Levisoceras (depicted with small cone shell on the left) were among the dominant sea creatures during the early Ordovician period.

On the beach, we see a trilobite and an Orthocone nautiloid that have washed ashore dead.

Swimming in the ocean, there's a school of Conodonts—early vertebrates that evolved separately from the fish we are familiar with today.