The Cambrian explosion (also known as Cambrian radiation[1] or Cambrian diversification) is an interval of time beginning approximately 538.8 million years ago in the Cambrian period of the early Paleozoic, when a sudden radiation of complex life occurred and practically all major animal phyla started appearing in the fossil record. [2][3][4] It...

Mar 12, 2025 · Cambrian explosion, the unparalleled emergence of organisms between 541 million and approximately 530 million years ago at the beginning of the Cambrian Period. The event was characterized by the appearance of many of the major phyla (between 20 and 35) that make up modern animal life.

The Cambrian explosion is when many animal phyla first appeared in the fossil record. It happened 541 million years ago (mya). [1] [2] [3] Probably most had evolved before then, but that was their first appearance as fossils. [4] Before about 580 mya it …

Around 530 million years ago, a wide variety of animals burst onto the evolutionary scene in an event known as the Cambrian explosion. In perhaps as few as 10 million years, marine animals evolved most of the basic body forms that we observe in modern groups.

Feb 28, 2025 · The Cambrian explosion is particularly important in the history of life because it was the first radiation of life with hard parts when many groups of animal life originated or became established, including arthropods, echinoderms, mollusks, and vertebrates. Some of these groups would dominate the Cambrian, such as trilobites (the first ...

May 27, 2016 · The Cambrian Explosion was a dramatic burst of evolutionary changes in life on Earth. During the Cambrian Period, which began about 540 million years, trilobites were the dominant species.

Feb 16, 2016 · Within several million years, this simple ecosystem would disappear, and give way to a world ruled by highly mobile animals that sported modern anatomical features. The Cambrian explosion, as it...

Learn more about a time period marked by an intense burst of evolution. The Cambrian period, part of the Paleozoic era, produced the most intense burst of evolution ever known. The Cambrian...

Mar 24, 2025 · The control system that may have emerged at the Cambrian explosion is known as HIF-1α (hypoxia-inducible factor 1). In modern animals, this system helps cells detect and adapt to changes in oxygen conditions, controlling processes like energy metabolism and the coordination of a cell's functions .

Jul 14, 2021 · The Cambrian Explosion by nature is a three-phased explosion of animal body plans alongside episodic biomineralization, pulsed change of generic diversity, body size variation, and progressive...