L ife became established on land during the Silurian and early Devonian periods, around 400 million years ago. These early terrestrial communities consisted of arthropods and simple plants.
Arthropods belong to the same family as modern insects.
Fossils from terrestrial faunas of this age are usually on the millimetre scale, but this turns out to be an artifact of preservation and, possibly, preparation. This new fauna from the Gasp peninsula of Qu bec combines cuticle fragments as well as compression fossils of larger animals, giving a more rounded picture.