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
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.
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.
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.
PALEOZOIC
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.
Dawn of Vertebrates: Meet Your First True Ancestors of Ancient Earth
Cambrian Stem Vertebrates: 4 Remarkable Early Vertebrate Relatives
Rise of Metaspriggina: Our Long-Lost Cambrian Vertebrate Relative
Myllokunmingiidae: Meet Your 3 Cambrian First-Vertebrate Relatives
Zhongjianichthys: An Illusive Big-Nosed Vertebrate Relative
Meet Myllokunmingia: Your Tiny Stem-Vertebrate Relative from the Cambrian
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.
Discover Schidiosteus: The Split-Bone Enigma of the Silurian Seas
Dive Into the Secrets of Rytidolepis: An Ancient Sea Mystery
Meet Rhyncholepis: The Newly-Crowned King of Fossil Anaspids
Discover Cowielepis: Scotland’s Jawless Silurian Fish
Discover Birkenia, the Streamlined & Jawless Silurian Anaspid from 430 Million Years Ago
Meet Pharyngolepis, the Early Jawless Anaspid from the Silurian
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.