The Cambrian Explosion saw most major animal phyla appear suddenly in the fossil record. Continents were largely scattered across the southern hemisphere and trilobites flourished in the seas.
Explore the Cambrian Earth in 3D →Just before the Cambrian, first complex multicellular organisms appeared. Mysterious creatures like Dickinsonia, unlike any modern phylum, filled the seas. The prelude to animal evolution.
Most major animal phyla appeared suddenly in the fossil record. The most dramatic diversification event in the history of life.
Haikouichthys from the Cambrian Chengjiang Lagerstätte is among the earliest vertebrate fossils. This small fish with a notochord, eyes, and primitive gills belongs to the lineage ancestral to all vertebrates — fish, amphibians, reptiles, mammals, and humans.