The first fliers

Exploration · Carbonif.

The first fliers

Starting point · 320 Ma

An imagined forest and griffinfly around 305 Ma, not coexistence of four flying lineages or an exact size comparison. Colors and vegetation layout are inferred.

Powered flight evolved separately in insects and several vertebrate lineages. These four groups are not a single ancestor–descendant chain. Explore Earth and fossil evidence through time, distinguishing fossil ages from the exact origins of flight. The map provides an overview of Earth through time from a fixed view. It does not follow fossil localities or individual fragments of continental crust.