Cambrian explosion (jan 1, 541000000 BC – jan 1, 520000000 BC)
Description:
The Cambrian explosion (also known as the Cambrian radiation 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. It lasted for about to 25 million years and resulted in the divergence of most modern metazoan phyla. The event was accompanied by major diversification in other groups of organisms as well.Before early Cambrian diversification,[b] most organisms were relatively simple, composed of individual cells or small multicellular organisms, occasionally organized into colonies. As the rate of diversification subsequently accelerated, the variety of life became much more complex and began to resemble that of today. Almost all present-day animal phyla appeared during this period, including the earliest chordates.
Added to timeline:
Date:
jan 1, 541000000 BC
jan 1, 520000000 BC
~ 5883516 years