The Significance and Causes of the Cambrian Explosion: Earth’s Evolutionary Boom

KOMPAS.com – There was an incident that made Earth finally inhabited by various creatures like it is today. This event is often referred to as the Cambrian explosion.

Ledakan Cambrian

Quoting IFL Science, Friday (14/7/2023) the Cambrian period occurred approximately between 541 million and 485.4 million years ago.

Also read: Period of Time Dinosaurs Lived, Associated with the Formation of Continents

This period was characterized by a significant increase or an unparalleled boom in the emergence of various types of organisms.

The Cambrian explosion produced the largest evolutionary explosion ever seen in Earth’s history.

Chordata, the group that includes all vertebrate animals – including humans – also emerged during this period of rapid evolution.

The explosion also left behind creatures that have survived to the present day, including echinoderms, molluscs, worms, and arthropods, all of which still exist today.

What caused the Cambrian explosion is still a topic of debate.

Also read: The Period of Earth’s Evolution to the Emergence of Early Humans

What is clear after the explosion, the Earth’s ecosystem changed very dramatically.

Animals began to develop eyesight, legs, and predator and prey relationships began to develop.

Some later researchers argued that increased oxygen levels in Earth’s atmosphere at that time allowed larger and more complex animals to exist.

“That’s when most of the major animals first appeared in the fossil record and became diverse,” explains Greg Edgecombe, of London’s Natural History Museum.

“But it’s actually much more than that. This period is a time of innovation and diversification of body design, but it’s also an ecological phenomenon because life responds to changing environmental conditions,” he added.

Not a single event

As difficult as it may be to imagine, the Cambrian explosion was not a single event but rather a period of evolution spanning several million years.

The result is rapid changes in animal body shape, animal size, and adaptation of the biomineralized framework.

“We found that the factors behind the Cambrian explosion actually started during the Ediacaran period, much earlier than previously thought,” said Emily Mitchell, co-author of the study.

Also read: Titanoboa Snake Period Life on Earth

The Ediacaran period is the period that occurred before the Cambrian explosion, approximately 570 million years ago.

That’s why researchers call the Ediacaran period the axis that ignited the Cambrian explosion.

There are still many questions surrounding the Cambrian explosion that remain unanswered. But for now there is no doubt about the significance of the Cambrian explosion in helping to increase the diversity of animals on the planet.

Get selected news updates and breaking news every day from Kompas.com. Let’s join the Telegram group “Kompas.com News Update”, how to click the link https://t.me/kompascomupdate, then join. You must first install the Telegram application on your cellphone.

2023-07-16 04:00:00
#Cambrian #Explosion #Kompas.com