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Prehistoric Life: Meet the Monsters that Made Us

Take an epic journey through time to Earth’s ancient past, to meet the amazing prehistoric animals that drove our evolution in Prehistoric Life.

PRECAMBRIAN

When did the Solar System Form, when, solar system, form, formation, young sun, earth, solar nebula, milky way, age of earth, 4.5, billion, years, 4.6,

01. the hadean

4.5–4 billion years ago

Witness the start of it all: From the Earth’s formation to ancient geological and cosmic forces to abiogenesis and the first miracle of life on our planet – this is Earth during the Hadean period.

EXPLORE THE HADEAN
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02. cryogenian

720–635 million years ago

Experience the deafening chill of snowball Earth, but don’t blink or you’ll miss the first stirrings of complex eumetazoan and bilaterian life, deep beneath the global ice sheets of the Cryogenian.

EXPLORE THE CRYOGENIAN
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03. ediacaran

635–538 million years ago

Prepare for a momentous explosion of weird and wonderful prehistoric life: From the first undisputed multicellular organisms to the dawn of predation pushing evolution into overdrive in the Ediacaran.

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PALEOZOIC

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04. cambrian

538–485 million years ago

See the explosion of new life for yourself: From the dawn of arthropods and the evolution of eyes, hard parts, predators and prey, to the first chordate ancestors of me and you – this is Cambrian time.

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Silurian, the Silurian, epoch, era, period, earth

05. silurian

443.8–419.2 million years ago

Witness the Rise of Early Vertebrates: From the emergence of jawed fish and the flourishing of jawless fish to the first vascular plants and thriving marine ecosystems – this is the Silurian.

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Fossil reconstruction of Dunkleosteus via James St. John, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

06. devonian

419.2–358.9 million years ago

See the diversification of fish: From powerful marine predators to intriguing new forms, planet-wide coral reefs, the first land forests to life’s first steps onto land in the Devonian.

EXPLORE THE DEVONIAN