Cambrian Period Pronunciation
How to Pronounce Cambrian
KAM-bree-un
ALL CAPS = stressed syllable
538-485 million years ago
The Cambrian Period is famous for the Cambrian Explosion, an extraordinary burst of evolution where almost all major animal body plans appeared within a geologically short time. This was hundreds of millions of years before dinosaurs. Bizarre creatures like Anomalocaris and Hallucigenia filled the seas.
Fun Facts
- ✓The Cambrian Explosion, about 538 million years ago, saw most major animal body plans appear within a few million years.
- ✓Eyes evolved independently multiple times during the Cambrian, giving many animals a new way to sense the world.
- ✓The Burgess Shale in Canada preserves extraordinary Cambrian fossils with soft tissue detail.
- ✓There were no land animals during the Cambrian. Life was entirely in the oceans.