| Prehistoric Scratchpad PhBP Po10BP |
Period that experienced the greatest explosion in animal life. Took place after Snowball Earth and a mass extinction of the pre-cambrian complex life. Many types of modern life are represented in this period, including Arthropods (trilobites, already diverse), molluscs (sea shells), echinoderms (sea urchins, starfish), and the oldest vertebrates (Haikouichthys). The development of the complex eye is thought to have originated at this time, accelerating evolution.
Cambrian Period Web Pages[]
Classification[]
- Paleozoic Era - Early age of the animals.
- Cambrian Period
- Terraneuvian Epoch - The first Epoch of the Cambrian Period and the Paleozoic Era and the Phanerozoic Eon. The pre-trilobite Cambrian.
- Early Cambrian Epoch - The unnamed second epoch of the Cambrian, currently known as Cambrian Series 2, an used to be called Early Cambrian, Lower Cambrian, and had a proposed name of Branchian. It starts at the appearance of the first trilobites. The first mass extinction event of complex life occurred at the end of this epoch.
- Middle Cambrian Epoch - An unnamed epoch, currently known as Cambrian Series 3, and used to be called Middle Cambrian.
- Furongian Epoch - Late Cambrian Epoch
- Cambrian Period