β All time stops
Life Fills the Ocean
540 million years ago β the sea gets busy
Put on your virtual snorkel and dive back in time to when the ocean burst with silly, wonderful new creatures!
1/5
- 540 million years ago
A Watery World
Back then, almost all of Earth was covered in warm salt water. The land was empty, but the sea was ready to burst with life!
The big idea
A very long time ago, Earth's oceans suddenly became full of strange and exciting animal life.
Fun facts
- β¨ The famous ancient hunter Anomalocaris had big eyes made of thousands of tiny lenses!
- β¨ Trilobites were so successful that they lived in the ocean for over 250 million years.
- β¨ Scientists call this huge boom in ocean life the Cambrian Explosion, but nothing actually blew up!
Science words
- Predator β An animal that hunts and eats other animals for food.
- Fossil β An ancient leaf, shell, or bone that turned into stone over a very long time.
- Algae β Tiny plants and plant-like living things that grow in water.