Anomalocaris on black background

 Evolution and Cambrian explosion

Evolution

Biological evolution is driven by genes adapting animals to changing environments. Both paleontology and genetics help us understand the evolution of the animal kingdom and the explosion of animal diversity during the Cambrian.

Videos

Cambrian Explosion
Des Collins, Paleontologist: The Burgess Shale
Paleontology: Paleontologists Study Fossils
Paleontology: New Evidence Revises Thinking, Anomalocaris
Paleontology: Paleontologists Study Tracks and Traces
Bilateral Body Plan
Genetics: Genes Tell Us About Evolution
Genetics: How Genes Direct Development
Introduction: A New View of the Evolution of Animals
Taxonomy
Ultimate Animal

Cambrian Explosion

General Info

Causes

Fossil Sites

Animals

Key Concepts

Lesson Plans

  • tree of life vimeo
    Lesson Plan
    Animating the Tree of Life
    Students will explore an animated "Tree of Life." They will record observations and questions about it and discuss them as a class. Create your own cartoon!

    Full Lesson Plan

  • tree of life
    Lesson Plan
    Constructing the Tree of Life
    Students explore the evolution of life on earth by constructing a "tree of life" -- metaphorical art that arranges groups of organisms by characteristics and when scientists think they first evolved.For more BIG FUN, take a look at the new Animating Tree of Life Lesson Plan where students create their own cartoon!

    Full Lesson Plan

  • Lesson Plan
    The Secrets of Fossils
    In this lesson students make connections between fossils and modern day organisms. Using the information about the Cambrian Explosion, they explore theories about how and why organisms diversified. Students hypothesize what evidence might be helpful to connect fossil organisms to modern organisms to show evolutionary connections. Students use three videos from shapeoflife.org.

    Full Lesson Plan

  • Lesson Plan
    Ages Of Rock
    This collection consists of six lesson plans designed to help students construct an explanation of the geologic time scale based on personal connections, science concepts and nature of science ideas.

    Full Lesson Plan

  • Lesson Plan
    Who Was "Hunter Eve?"
    The paleontological evidence of the first animal to hunt is tiny trails that have been fossilized in rocks. To start this lesson, students will consider the tracks and traces left by modern animals and what they can learn about an animal from its tracks.

    Full Lesson Plan

  • Lesson Plan
    Cambrian Explosion
    In this lesson, students will watch a short film about the Cambrian Explosion and the extraordinary fossils of the Burgess Shale. Students will address preconceptions and misconceptions about early Cambrian life, and complete a timeline activity that will enable them to better appreciate just how recently—relatively speaking—multicellular life evolved on Earth.

    Full Lesson Plan

  • Lesson Plan
    MODELING EVOLUTIONARY RELATIONSHIPS WITH TREES
    In this lesson, students will address misconceptions about phylogenetic trees before completing a modeling activity to give them a better understanding of how trees are used to model evolutionary relationships.

    Full Lesson Plan

All Lesson Plans on Evolution

  • Top of the Tree of Life with Species
    Factsheet
    Cambrian Explosion
    The Cambrian Explosion was a burst of animal evolution that occurred in the ocean about 540 million years ago.

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All Factsheets

Cambrian Explosion Readings

  • Earth from space
    Reading
    Cambrian Explosion: A BIG BANG in the Evolution of Animals
    For most of Earth's early history, there simply was no fossil record. Only recently have we come to discover otherwise: Life is virtually as old as the planet itself, and even the most ancient sedimentary rocks have yielded fossilized remains of primitive forms of life.

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All Readings

Blog

A Cool Summer Adventure: BURGESS SHALE!

By Nancy Burnett, Founder of Shape of LifeWhile working on the original PBS Shape of Life series, I learned about the discovery of fossil animals that first appeared during the Cambrian Explosion. When I realized that the most famous Cambrian site is in the Burgess Shale of British Columbia, I knew I had to visit it. 

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Scientist

Geerat Vermeij UC Davis, Distinguished Professor, Earth and Planetary Sciences

The Whole World at his FingertipsWhen we filmed Evolutionary Biologist Geerat (Gary) Vermeij for Shape of Life we were awed by how he could tell us so much about a shell by feeling the shape, the texture, the bumps and even the repairs. Blind since age three, Gary studies the form and function of molluscs in a completely unique way – using his figertips. He says his parents encouraged him to…

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Creature

Anomalocaris

Imagine the oceans 530 million years ago, during the Cambrian Explosion, filled with creatures alien to us today. Anomalocaris (ah-NOM-ah-LAH-kariss), from the Greek meaning “unusual shrimp”, was a major predator of those ancient seas. Fossils from the Cambrian in the Burgess Shale in Canada, and formations in China, Greenland, Australia, and Utah show that this large, ancient shrimp was…

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Resources

Children with pencils at desks in classroom
Lesson Plans
A hand holding a pencil
Factsheets
Open book on shelf
Readings