The Cambrian Explosion: A Burst of Life

Imagine nearly every animal blueprint appearing in a geological flash. About 542 million

years ago, life on Earth went from simple and squishy to wildly complex in what's

called the Cambrian Explosion. Suddenly, the oceans were teeming with bizarre

new creatures. This is when we see the first animals with hard shells, legs,

and even eyes, like the famous trilobites. One of the top predators was a meter-long

beast called Anomalocaris. This creative boom was likely fueled by rising oxygen levels and a new,

intense predator-prey arms race. This single, explosive event laid the foundation

for all animal diversity we see today.