Cambrian explosion

American  

noun

1. the rapid appearance during the Cambrian Period of a large number of multicelled life forms which are the ancestors of almost all modern animal phyla.

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Cambrian Explosion Scientific  

1. The rapid diversification of multicellular animal life that took place around the beginning of the Cambrian Period. It resulted in the appearance of almost all modern animal phyla.

2. See Note at Burgess Shale

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Example Sentences

Han said his team was also surprised that some of the animals in the quarry had also been found at Canada's Burgess Shale site, which dates from an early period of the Cambrian explosion.

From Barron's • Jan. 28, 2026

The species was probably not the ecdysozoans’ common ancestor, the authors say, but the discovery adds to the diversity of life before the Cambrian explosion.

From Science Magazine • Nov. 20, 2024

Think of it as the sequel to the more famous, earlier Cambrian explosion, which saw the rapid origin of many different kinds of animal bodies and groups of living things in the seas.

From Slate • Oct. 21, 2024

Magnesium’s online success also has been spurred in part by a Cambrian explosion of products and formulations, each adapted for a different niche in the wellness ecosystem.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 6, 2024

Before the Cambrian explosion species seem to have succeeded one another rather slowly.

From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan