Geology The earth's land masses became welded into a single continent called Pangaea. In the region of present-day North America, the Appalachian Mountains were formed, along with the Urals in Asia and the Austrian Alps. In the south, the ice age continued, but the north was warm and dry.   Animal Life Reptiles started to increase and flourish, but they left amphibians back in the dust, or - shall we say water? Amphibians declined. There was a large extinction in the oceans at the end of the Permian Period. Trilobites and many kinds of coral died out, marking the end of the Paleozoic era.   Plant Life Cycadlike plants and conifers appeared in the northern hemisphere, replacing the coal forests. The giant clubmosses and horsetails became extinct as conifers started to flourish.

A landscape from the Permian

Conifers started to flourish.

Paleozoic Era: Permian Period