14) Colonisation of the land by plants and invertebrates

Following the pioneering lichens symbioses between fungi and algae, mosses are thought to have been among the first true plants to colonise the land: Image credit © Tenzin Alex Anderson

460 million years ago – Leaving the water, animals such as worms and mollusks and crustaceans seek the adventure of weather and gravity. Algae and fungi venture ashore as well. The first plants evolve as mosses. Insects evolve with nearly weightless bodies which permit them to take to the air as the first flying animals. Algae, fungi, insects!