Collection: First Journey

FIRST JOURNEY

This collection showcases the first leg of the journey of vertebrate evolution from their first appearance in the seas to their domination of the lands. The entire saga of the First Journey took place in the Paleozoic era, the era which preceded the Age of Dinosaurs (the Mesozoic). The evolution of vertebrate life had most of its milestones in the Paleozoic, with a wide range of body features and forms evolving throughout the era.

First Journey, acrylic on canvas, 2021. Set of 9, each piece 8" X 8" 

 

The artworks are arranged in this manner to create a sense of connection in the steps of the "journey".

The Forerunners: Cambrian Sea

The Forerunners, acrylic on canvas, 2021. 

The First Journey begins in the Cambrian period (541 to 485 million years ago). Earlier, life had began to evolve in the oceans in the Precambrian, and early biodiversity had reached a significant point called the "Cambrian Explosion" which oversaw the variety of life in the world's oceans. In the Cambrian, the oceans were populated by invertebrates, in which some of them, like the arthropods, had evolved armor as a means of protection. Meanwhile, soft-bodied animals like sponges and jellyfish (top left) also exist, and among them, unique lifeforms began to evolve a revolutionary landmark: the first primitive backbones. One of those unique animals was Pikaia (main focus), which was one of the very first vertebrates. The fish in the right side of the picture is Haikouichthys, a thumbnail-sized fish which was one of the earliest known fish which evolved from creatures like Pikaia. The other creatures that share the habitat in the painting are Opabinia (top right), a five-eyed predatory arthropod, Hallucigenia (bottom right), an unusual worm-like creature, and trilobites.

Dawn of Fish: The Age of Fish

Dawn of Fish, acrylic on canvas, 2021. 

Throughout the Ordovician (485-443 million years ago) and Silurian (443-419 million years ago) periods, the fish gradually evolved fins and more distinct heads and tails. Fish evolution reached its peak in the Devonian period (419-358 million years ago), which is why that period is also called the "Age of Fish". When fish first evolved, they had no jaws and were mostly bottom or filter feeders. One particular family of jawless fish is called the ostracoderms, and they come in various forms in the Devonian. Cephalaspis (main focus) is an ostracoderm with a heavily-armored head and special sensory organs along the rim of its head shield which it used to detect vibrations in the water. Another type of jawless fish is Pteraspis (bottom left), a fish which evolved armor plating and a horn-like bill. The armor plating served as protection from predators. Meanwhile, arthropods also evolved into a variety of forms, and the Ordovician and Silurian saw the rise of a family of predatory arthropods called sea scorpions, which are related to modern scorpions. The Devonian saw a decline in sea scorpions, and one of the last to appear was Jaekelopterus (top right), which was also the largest. It was the biggest arthropod in the Devonian period, growing to the size of a crocodile.

The First Jaws: The Missing Link

The First Jaws, acrylic on canvas, 2021. 

The Devonian also foresaw the evolution of fish in another feature: the first jaw. With these jaws, fish are becoming the new predators of the ocean. At the same time, these jawed fish also began to evolve hind limbs, which are present in a family of jawed bony fish called Sarcopterygians, or the "fleshy-finned fish". Tiktaalik (main focus) is somewhat regarded as a missing link between fish and most land animals today because it bore several features associated with both fish and land animals, which include gills and sturdy interior bones in its limbs which may have enabled it to drag itself out of the water. Meanwhile, the first sharks also evolved in the Devonian. Cladoselache (top) is often identified as one of the earliest sharks. Trilobites still swam the waters of the Devonian, and one such trilobite named Walliserops possessed a fork-like structure on the head. Echinoderms were also common at the time, which includes crinoids (sea lilies) and early starfish such as Arkonaster (bottom right). Starfish had first appeared in the Ordovician.

The First Steps: Dawn of Amphibians

The First Steps, acrylic on canvas, 2021. 

The late Devonian period also witnessed a revolutionary point in the evolution of vertebrate life: the emergence of the first amphibians, which evolved from the fleshy-finned sarcopterygians. Amphibians like Ichthyostega (center) and Acanthostega (bottom left) represent the vertebrate pioneers that began to colonize the land with their ability to breathe the air around them thanks to the evolution of lungs from gills. Around them, plants had also caught a grip on land. The first pioneering land plants appeared in the Silurian, and in the Devonian they diversified and some became larger, evolving into the first trees that are represented by archaic forms such as Archaeopteris. These early plants reproduced through spores. The flower-like plants in the painting are Rhynia, which are actually non-flowering plants because flowers only first evolved later in the age of dinosaurs.

Swamp Survivors: The Carboniferous

Swamp Survivors, acrylic on canvas, 2021. 

As the Devonian came to an end, which was marked by a mass extinction, the world had become a very different place: plants had grown larger and colonized each and every part of the globe, causing the Earth's oxygen level to rise due to photosynthesis. In the Carboniferous period (358-298 million years ago),  dense forests and swamps have emerged, supporting a large variety of life, including vertebrates. Amphibians also grew larger at the time, and a notable amphibian from the Carboniferous is Proterogyrinus (name meaning "first crawler"). However, the most dominant denizens of the Carboniferous forests were the arthropods, which had already began colonizing the land before the first amphibians evolved. Because of the large amount of oxygen in the atmosphere which constituted over a third of the air at the time, arthropods grew to large sizes and evolved into several forms that we know today. Pulmonoscorpius (top right) was a large scorpion from the Carboniferous which grew to one meter long. The largest land arthropod in the Carboniferous was Arthropleura (bottom left), a giant millipede as long as a car.

The First Scales: Dawn of Reptiles

The First Scales, acrylic on canvas, 2021. 

Amongst the giant arthropods and amphibians thriving in the Carboniferous forests, another branch of vertebrates had evolved from a certain group of amphibians. They no longer had the need to return to the water to reproduce; their eggs evolved waterproof shells that enabled them to be laid on land. With this new adaptation, this group of vertebrates had become fully geared for complete life on land. These were the first reptiles. Hylonomus was a representative of this early reptile group, having scales which keeps its body from losing moisture. Insects and spiders also evolved in the Carboniferous, also attaining large forms due to the oxygen level. Meganeura (top left) is a giant dragonfly that had a wingspan the size of an eagle's. On the lower branch in the painting is a large species of spider in the family Mesothelae, one of the most ancient of the spider orders. The reptiles seemingly had a bright future ahead of them; the atmosphere would eventually lose oxygen as the Carboniferous period ends, and arthropods would also reduce in size.

Sailback World: The Early Permian

Sailback World, acrylic on canvas, 2021. 

As the Carboniferous forests gave way to more open spaces as it transitions to the Permian period (298-252 million years ago), reptiles and amphibians occupied the more favorable environment and evolved into a host of different forms and sizes, and reptiles attained bigger forms. The Early Permian is known for being the age when large, sail-backed reptiles roamed the earth. These reptiles, called pelycosaurs, resembled the sail-backed dinosaurs which evolved later, but were actually unrelated to dinosaurs; they were actually closer to mammals, which made them "mammal-like reptiles". The most well-known of these pelycosaurs was Dimetrodon (name meaning "two-sized tooth"), which had a set of specialized sharp teeth that served different functions when feeding. Another pelycosaur, Edaphosaurus (name meaning "pavement lizard", top right), became one of the earliest vertebrates to have lived a herbivorous lifestyle, eating plants. Amphibians too diversified in form during the Permian, and a notable example was Diplocaulus (bottom), which can be easily identified by its boomerang-shaped head.

Reptilian Diversity: The Late Permian

Permian Desert, acrylic on canvas, 2021. 

The Permian period was a golden age in the early evolution of reptiles and amphibians. Meanwhile, the world around them was also changing radically, with the primordial continents merging into a single supercontinent called Pangaea since the beginning of the Permian. The assembly of the continents into one supercontinent made the global weather more inhospitable, with the appearance of global deserts, and life must adapt to these hostile situations to survive. Reptiles seem to be more well-equipped to these conditions compared to several giant amphibians which had seen a decline as the Permian progressed. Mammal-like reptiles had reached a peak in evolution in the Late Permian, radiating into different forms. The gorgonopsid (center) evolved its way to the top of the food chain of the late Permian. Gorgonopsids have a set of carnivorous teeth which included a pair of long canines. Herbivorous reptiles rely on the desert plants for nutrition, and may have evolved features that enabled them to survive in the hot, dry late Permian environment. Scutosaurus (bottom right) is a heavily-armed reptile which grew to the size of a rhinoceros. Its bony bumps, which serve as protection, predate its lineage: its closest living relatives are turtles and tortoises. The flying lizard in the painting is Coelurosauravus, with wings that are actually flaps of skin which it used to glide across the air. The Permian ended with the worst mass extinction in Earth's history, the Permian-Triassic extinction, which wiped out almost 90% of life on Earth, including most of the large reptiles and several large amphibians. However, the First Journey does not end there - the surviving 3% of all life had bigger shoes to fill in the forthcoming new era.

 Prelude to Domination: A New Era

Triassic Marsh, acrylic on canvas, 2021. 

The First Journey's final leg takes place in the early Triassic (251-247 million years ago) period, when reptiles had already regained their grip on becoming the dominant life forms on Earth. Mammal-like reptiles and some amphibians which survived the extinction are already beginning to colonize the empty Earth, with hardy species such as Lystrosaurus dominating the landscape. A stocky herbivore, Lystrosaurus is one of the several species from the age that supported the proof of continental drift: they lived in where it is now Antarctica, India, China, Mongolia, Russia and South Africa. The reason why their fossils were found across the world is because they were able to spread easily due to the formation of the supercontinent Pangaea. Another group of reptiles from the early Triassic with a brighter future is the archosaurs, a reptile group which also includes today's crocodiles and alligators. The crocodile-like Proterosuchus (top left) was the largest predator of its time, measuring to the size of a Komodo dragon. Another archosaur, Euparkeria (top right), is close to the ancestry of the next dominant reptile group on Earth. Throughout the Triassic, large mammal-like reptiles were on the decline, but smaller ones eventually evolved into the first mammals. The First Journey completes as the world saw the rise and dominance of a new reptile group - the dinosaurs.