Romer's Gap

Romer's gap is an example of an apparent gap in the tetrapod fossil record used in the study of evolutionary biology. Such gaps represent periods from which excavators have not yet found relevant fossils. Romer's gap is named after paleontologist Alfred Romer, who first recognised it. Recent discoveries in Scotland are beginning to close this gap in palaeontological knowledge.

It is a short period, from approximately 360 to 345 million years ago, from the end of the Devonian and beginning of the Carboniferous, when I believe dramtic changes occured in soil evolution.

From just spreading across the surface, roots now went down, possibly in fissures in the rocks. These may have been caused y the turbulent times of continents crashing into each other. Wiht the roots going deeper, so could the springtial ns other small creatures. These enabled the depth of soils to increase, providing more stable environment for further root groth and rhizosphere devleopment.

It may be that the missing fossil record is because of these distrurbances on the surface for land evolution, making evolution difficult or that people are looking in the wrong place - looking for tetrapods rather than soil cratures. Have we looked IN earth for evolutionary developments. There are theories that there was a lack of oxygen at the time

Now would be thge time when volcanic ash plentiful and capable of being widely spread so mixing with exisitn soil structures to provide nutrients for newly emerging plants.