First the fish, then the forest
- about 450 million years agoOldest shark-like scales
- about 385 million years agoWattieza, the first known tree
- about 200 million years agoThe first modern sharks
Shark-like fish existed long before the first tree. The sharks of today came much later.
Careful with the word "shark"
The early cartilaginous fish looked like sharks but weren't sharks in today's sense. Modern sharks appear only about 200 million years ago, in the Early Jurassic. By then there had long been forests.
The first tree
8meterstall or more: Wattieza
Wattieza grew about 385 million years ago and resembled a tree fern. It was related to ferns and horsetails. Its fossils were found in New York State.
