Cambrian Period

E88508

The Cambrian Period was an early division of geologic time marked by a rapid diversification of life known as the "Cambrian explosion," during which most major animal groups first appeared in the fossil record.

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AI-generated illustration of Cambrian Period

This AI-generated illustration was produced by black-forest-labs/FLUX.2-dev (1024x1024) from a prompt written by openai/gpt-oss-120b from the entity's label + description.

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Generate an image of the Cambrian Period (The Cambrian Period was an early division of geologic time marked by a rapid diversification of life known as the "Cambrian explosion," during which most major animal groups first appeared in the fossil record.)

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Statements (49)

Predicate Object
instanceOf geologic period
stratigraphic unit
characterizedBy appearance of most major animal phyla in the fossil record
development of complex food webs
evolution of hard body parts
increased bioturbation of seafloor sediments
rapid diversification of animal life
widespread marine ecosystems
duration about 56 million years
endTime about 485 million years ago
fieldOfStudy geology
paleontology
stratigraphy
followedByEvent Great Ordovician Biodiversification Event
follows Ediacaran Period
hasBoundaryDefinedBy first appearance of the trace fossil Treptichnus pedum
hasClimate generally warm climate
hasEnvironment predominantly marine habitats
hasKeyEvent Cambrian explosion
hasLifeForm annelid worms
archaeocyathids
arthropods
brachiopods
cnidarians
early chordates
early echinoderms
lobopodians
small shelly fossils
sponges
trilobites
hasNotableFossilSite Burgess Shale
Chengjiang biota
Emu Bay Shale
Sirius Passet
hasSeaLevel high global sea levels
hasTectonicContext assembly of early Paleozoic continents
breakup of supercontinent Pannotia
namedAfter Cambria
Wales
partOf Paleozoic Era
precededByEvent Ediacaran biota decline
precedes Ordovician Period
recognizedBy International Commission on Stratigraphy
startTime about 541 million years ago
subdividedInto Furongian
Miaolingian
Series 2
Terreneuvian
usedIn geologic time scale

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (45)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Phanerozoic Eon contains Cambrian Period
Vertebrata hasFossilRecordSince Cambrian period
linked to: Cambrian Period
Paleozoic Era contains Cambrian Period
Neoproterozoic Era precedes Cambrian Period
Amadeus Basin geologicalPeriod Cambrian
subject linked to: Amadeus Basin geological region
linked to: Cambrian Period
Cambrian explosion partOf Cambrian period
linked to: Cambrian Period
Ordovician Period follows Cambrian Period
Agnatha firstAppearance Cambrian period
linked to: Cambrian Period
Crustacea firstAppearance Cambrian period
linked to: Cambrian Period
Cephalopoda fossilRecordExtendsBackTo Cambrian period
linked to: Cambrian Period
Protostomia hasFossilRecord Cambrian period
linked to: Cambrian Period
Hemichordata firstAppearance Cambrian period
linked to: Cambrian Period
Chelicerata firstAppearance Cambrian period
linked to: Cambrian Period
Cambrian biota temporalLocation Cambrian period
linked to: Cambrian Period
Ediacaran Period followedBy Cambrian Period
Brachiopoda firstAppearance Cambrian period
linked to: Cambrian Period
Tardigrada fossilRecord Cambrian period
linked to: Cambrian Period
Priapulida firstAppearance Cambrian period
linked to: Cambrian Period
Cambria inspiredNameOf Cambrian period
linked to: Cambrian Period
Sirius Passet geologicalStage Cambrian Series 2
linked to: Cambrian Period
Terreneuvian partOf Cambrian Period
Terreneuvian startOf Cambrian Period
Terreneuvian belongsToSystem Cambrian System
linked to: Cambrian Period
Miaolingian partOf Cambrian Period
Furongian partOf Cambrian Period
Furongian system Cambrian System
linked to: Cambrian Period
Emu Bay Shale geologicalPeriod Cambrian
linked to: Cambrian Period
Enteropneusta firstAppearance Cambrian period
linked to: Cambrian Period
Arbuckle Mountains geologicPeriod Cambrian
linked to: Cambrian Period
U-Dig Fossils area geologicalPeriod Cambrian
linked to: Cambrian Period
Anomalocaris livedDuring Cambrian period
linked to: Cambrian Period
Anomalocaris fossilRange Cambrian
linked to: Cambrian Period
Wiwaxia temporalRange Cambrian period
linked to: Cambrian Period
Pikaia geologicalPeriod Cambrian
linked to: Cambrian Period
Archaeocyatha livedDuring Cambrian period
linked to: Cambrian Period
Odontogriphus geologicalAge Cambrian period
linked to: Cambrian Period
Nectocaris geologicalPeriod Cambrian
linked to: Cambrian Period
Chengjiang biota geologicalAge Early Cambrian
linked to: Cambrian Period
Vetulicolia geologicalPeriod Cambrian
linked to: Cambrian Period
Marrella geologicalPeriod Cambrian
linked to: Cambrian Period
GSSP at Enorama Creek, Flinders Ranges, South Australia underlies Cambrian System
linked to: Cambrian Period
Damara Belt geologicalPeriod Cambrian
linked to: Cambrian Period
Illinois Basin containsStratigraphy Cambrian system
subject linked to: Illinois Basin area
linked to: Cambrian Period
Cambria inspiredNameOf Cambrian geological period
subject linked to: Cambria (Latin name for Wales)
linked to: Cambrian Period