The widely accepted (yet inaccurate) name for a species of highly intelligent and bipedal reptiles that once lived on the earth millions of years before humans evolved. They created an advanced civilisation, though when their astronomers discovered a large object on a collision course with earth, they created hibernation chambers below the surface and went into suspended animation until the danger passed. The object, however, never collided with the earth, instead being cought in its gravity and becoming the moon. They never woke up. Small tribes have, on occasion, been awakened by unsuspecting humans, and some of the reptiles regard humans as primitave apes that are living on a planet that rightfully belongs to them. On such occasions, conflict often ensues, though so far full scale war has been averted.
The exact point in earth's history that the Silurians belong to is unclear. Both the actual Silurian period and the Eocene epoch of the Tertiary period have been proved incorrect.
The most likely period for their evolution is the late Cretaceous period, and having been culturally and technologically developed enough, they would have survived the asteroid impact that wiped out the dinosaurs, and went into hibernation during the early Eocene, when the first primates evolved (when awakened, they show an awareness of apes). Of course, this is purely speculative.
The Silurians are a fictional species that were created for the BBC television show Doctor Who
