Geology
By the Permian Period, all of the continents had merged together to form a super continent by the name of Pangaea. With this transformation, crustal plates were thrust upward, forming the Ural and Appalachian Mountains. This change also increased the depth of the ocean, which caused many problems for many organisms.
Plant Life
At the beginning of the Permian Period, ferns and seed-ferns were the dominant plant life. As the climate grew drier, these simpler plants were replaced by more complex plants, such as conifers and ginkgoes.
Animal Life
On Land, amphibians were dominant, making the Permian Period "the Age of Amphibians".? Also on land were pre-dinosaur reptiles, such as the dimetrodon, and many kinds of invertebrates, such as trilobites. The seas were filled with corals, sponges, gastropods, fish, and other sea dwelling animals.
The End
The Permian Period and the Paleozoic Era both ended with the largest mass extinction in the history of the earth. Ninety-five percent of all marine life, fifty percent of all animals, and many plants went extinct. Many scientists think that this extinction was caused by the drop in sea level after the formation of Pangaea. Many of the Paleozoic creatures could not survive this abrupt climate change, and soon died out.