The Cambrian explosion, rightfully so, is famed for the many strange and exotic creatures that evolved during this period. From Anomalocaris to Wiwaxia, many of these now-extinct organisms seem as strange to us today as any alien life would probably be.
But, there is a lesser-known yet equally odd period in the history of life on Earth called the Ediacaran. Let’s take a tour back over half a billion years to see what kind of things roamed the planet.
What was the Ediacaran era?
The Ediacaran period (also referred to as the Vendian) was a geological period of Precambrian time that spans from roughly 635 million years ago to the beginning of the much more famous Cambrian Period around 540 million years ago. It marks the end of the Proterozoic Eon and the beginning of the Phanerozoic Eon, which is still ongoing.
