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WonderEvolutionary history fact1,715 of 1,961

During the Cambrian explosion, animal life diversified rapidly, leaving fossils that reveal many major body plans taking shape in ancient seas.

Animal body plans in ancient seas

EvolutionBiologyScienceOcean

Why it matters

The idea in context

The phrase 'explosion' can mislead if it sounds instantaneous, but the Cambrian record really does feel like a door opening. Eyes, shells, limbs, burrows and new predatory relationships changed the seafloor into a busier, more dangerous, more inventive world. The fossils are not just old animals. They are evidence of ecology becoming crowded enough to accelerate possibility.

Türkçe

Aynı kart, başka bir dilde.

Kambriyen patlaması sırasında hayvan yaşamı hızla çeşitlendi; fosiller, birçok temel vücut planının antik denizlerde biçimlendiğini gösterir.
Antik denizlerde hayvan vücut planları

'Patlama' sözcüğü anlık bir olay gibi duyulursa yanıltabilir; ama Kambriyen kayıtları gerçekten de bir kapı açılmış hissi verir. Gözler, kabuklar, uzuvlar, oyuklar ve yeni avcı-av ilişkileri deniz tabanını daha kalabalık, daha tehlikeli ve daha yaratıcı bir dünyaya çevirdi. Fosiller yalnızca eski hayvanlar değildir. Ekolojinin olasılığı hızlandıracak kadar kalabalıklaştığının kanıtıdır.

Source trail

Read beyond the card.

Background reading: Cambrian explosionAttribution and context are revised when stronger evidence appears. Corrections are welcome through the editorial page.
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