Henry J
Posts: 5787
Joined: Mar. 2005
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Fossils older than dinosaurs reveal pattern of early animal evolution on Earth
| Quote | | The abundant diversity of characteristics within species likely helped fuel the proliferation and evolution of an odd-looking creature that emerged from an unprecedented explosion of life on Earth more than 500 million years ago. |
Of course, "explosion" isn't really the right terminology for something that took place over several millions of years.
| Quote | | But during the Cambrian Period, more complex creatures with skeletons, eyes and limbs emerged with amazing suddenness. |
Methinks it was likely the equivalent of what we call an "arms race" - lots of factions developing various strategies to cope with each other. All at once because once a few started developing more advanced strategies, anybody that didn't cope quickly enough went extinct. Leastwise that's my take on it.
Henry
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