cambrian

The First Explosion of Life on Earth Made an Impact Deep Under The Surface

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The Cambrian Explosion – around 541 million years ago – was when life and organisms really got going on planet Earth. Now new research has revealed how that explosion of life has left behind traces deep within Earth’s mantle.   For scientists, it shows the connected interplay between Earth’s surface and what lies beneath, as … Read more

Cambrian explosion: First burst of animal evolution altered chemical makeup of Earth’s mantle

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The Cambrian explosion 500 million years ago saw a huge variety of animals evolve – and also led to carbon being buried in the seabed and ultimately carried into the planet’s mantle Earth 4 March 2022 By Michael Marshall The explosion of new species in the Cambrian period saw the emergence of many familiar groups … Read more

Teeny Tiny 500-Million-Year-Old Fossils Could Help Explain The Evolution of Spiders

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Two tiny fossils, each smaller than an aspirin pill, contain fossilized nerve tissue from 508 million years ago. The bug-like Cambrian creatures could help scientists piece together the evolutionary history of modern-day spiders and scorpions.    Still, it’s not clear exactly where these fossils – both specimens of the species Mollisonia symmetrica – fit on the arthropod … Read more