when did amphibians begin to colonize land as the first terrestrial vertebrates
Vertebrate land invasion The aquatic to terrestrial transition of vertebrate organisms occurred in the late Devonian era and was an important step in the evolutionary history of modern land vertebrates. The transition allowed animals to escape competitive pressure from the water and explore niche opportunities on land. Fossils from this period have allowed scientists to identify some of the species that existed during this transition, such as Tiktaalik[1] and Acanthostega.[2] Many of these species were also the first to develop adaptations suited to terrestrial over aquatic life, such as neck mobility and hindlimb locomotion.
Evolutionary history of plants Evidence for the appearance of the first land plants occurs in the Ordovician, around 450 million years ago, in the form of fossil spores.[7] Land plants began to diversify in the Late Silurian, from around 430 million years ago, and the results of their diversification are displayed in remarkable detail in an early Devonian fossil assemblage from the Rhynie chert. This chert, formed in volcanic hot springs, preserved several species of early plants in cellular detail by petrification.[8]