The Paleozoic differs from previous geological eras in the rapid development of life on the planet (about 340 million years). Skeletal organisms appeared - fish, from which the first amphibians descended, who managed to get out on land. By the end of the Paleozoic, amphibians, reptiles and even primitive mammals lived in coastal areas, the first insects appeared. Terrestrial plants arose that began to release oxygen, and in a relatively short period of time, the land was covered with forests of tree ferns and horsetails. An important event at the end of the Paleozoic was the formation of a huge supercontinent - Pangea.