Devonian Period

Devonian Period diorama

Most of the rocks in northern Maine are from the Devonian Period, about 400 million years ago. During that time, this area was covered by a shallow-water ocean bottom with an ecosystem similar to what is shown here.
This diorama shows solitary and colonial corals on the sea floor with sea shells called brachiopods. Flower-shaped animals called crinoids and blastoids filter the water for nutrients. Trilobites scavenge the ocean bottom for worms and other food.
Cephalopods, with both straight and coiled shells, lived as predators, feeding on trilobites and other organisms. Early fish were also an important part of the Devonian sea, although none are shown in this Diorama.

This Diorama is on loan from the American Museum of Natural History.