Could you survive a world with no land vegetation?
Between 541 and 530 million years ago, the oceans underwent a massive biological revolution. This video explores the Cambrian explosion, a period of unprecedented evolutionary innovation where modern animal lineages first emerged in a strange, barren landscape.
The Cambrian explosion was defined by the rapid appearance of 20 to 35 major animal phyla. While the oceans saw the rise of complex predators like Anomalocaris canadensis and the development of the first carbonate reefs built by archaeocyathids, the land remained a biological desert, devoid of any vegetation. Most life was confined to shallow marine margins, as the deep ocean and open seas were largely unoccupied.
This era marked a shift toward animals with hard body parts, such as calcium carbonate shells, which improved the fossil record. Scientists suggest rising oxygen levels may have enabled these large, complex organisms to exist and supported the production of collagen. Interestingly, while many modern groups like chordates were present, the most dominant groups of the time, such as certain arthropods and sponges, eventually went extinct.
Source: Could You Survive The Cambrian Explosion?
