Images for Chapter 5 The Cambrian Explosion

Ediacaran Animals

• Cyclomedusa photo. UC Berkeley Museum of Paleontology.
• Eoporpita photo. UC Berkeley Museum of Paleontology.
• Worm tracks Queen's University, Ontario.
• Kimberella photos UC Berkeley Museum of Paleontology.
• Reconstruction of Kimberella. Figure 5.3b. © Alexandra Cowen.
• Dickinsonia photo. UC Berkeley Museum of Paleontology.
• Spriggina photo. UC Berkeley Museum of Paleontology.
• Spriggina
• Tribrachidium photo. UC Berkeley Museum of Paleontology.
• Arkarua photo. UC Berkeley Museum of Paleontology.
• "Earliest chordate" claimed from the Ediacaran of Australia, October 2003: BBC News OnLine

Rangeomorphs
A new concept by Guy Narbonne that many early Ediacaran animals were modular, consisting of frond-like structures that were grown in many different ways to yield many different-looking fossils, often large ones. However, they were all variations on a theme, so can be considered as an evolutionary group, the rangeomorphs. Their zoological affinities remain uncertain, though they are probably not outrageously different in an ecological sense from colonial creatures like many cnidarians.

• 3D rangeomorph BBC News OnLine. The paper by Guy Narbonne was published in Science .
• Charnia photo. UC Berkeley Museum of Paleontology.
• The end of a frond of Charnia from Newfoundland. Cm scale. Photo by Guy Narbonne.
• "Disk fossil" from Mistaken Point. ?Base of a large frond? Cm scale. Photo by Guy Narbonne.
• "Pectinate fossil" Part of a large flattened frond? Cm scale. Photo by Guy Narbonne.
• Bradgatia A multi-frond animal? Photo by Guy Narbonne.
• Some rangeomorphs from Mistaken Point. Photo by Guy Narbonne.

The Beginning of the Cambrian

• Aldanella. Figure 5.7.
• Rowland's Reef: an archaeocyathid reef in Southern Nevada, exhumed by erosion. UC Berkeley Museum of Paleontology.
• Archaeocyathans in outcrop at Rowland's Reef. UC Berkeley Museum of Paleontology.
• Archaeocyathans. Figure 5.8.
• Fossilized embryos from the Precambrian/Cambrian boundary. From Stefan Bengtson's web site. They are identified as from a cnidarian and a worm.
• This identified as a hatchling from a jellyfish egg. From Stefan Bengtson's web site.

Larger Cambrian Animals

Trilobites

• Flexicalymene
• Trilobite Eyes
  Close-up of a phacopid eye
  • Descartes' design for a correcting lens. Image by Sam Gon.
  • Huygens' design for a correcting lens. Image by Sam Gon.

Browse further for images at

• Trilobite page from Sam Gon III. Looks great!
• Trilobite page from Kirsty Pitcher, in Oxford, England.
• EXTINCTIONS Inc., a fossil-selling company. Good images, subject to constant change.
• Trilobites, from the UC Berkeley site.

The Burgess Fauna

The Chengjiang Fauna, Lower Cambrian, China

• Myllokunmingia. Science News. Art by John Sibbick.
• Sponge from the Hetang Formation. From the Web page of Shuhai Xiao at Virginia Tech.

Burgess Shale Animals

Cnidarians

• Thaumaptilon, a sea-pen. Drawing. Smithsonian Institution.
• Thaumaptilon, photograph from Simon Conway Morris. Smithsonian Institution.

Worms

• Canadia drawing. Smithsonian Institution.
• Canadia photograph. Smithsonian Institution.
• Ottoia drawing. Smithsonian Institution..
• Ottoia photograph. Smithsonian Institution.

Sponges

• Choia drawing. Smithsonian Institution.
• Choia photograph. Smithsonian Institution.

Arthropods

• Waptia drawing. Smithsonian Institution.
• Waptia photograph. Smithsonian Institution.
• Canadapsis drawing. Smithsonian Institution.
• Canadapsis photograph. Smithsonian Institution.
• Leanchoilia drawing. Smithsonian Institution.
• Leanchoilia photograph. Smithsonian Institution.
• Perspicaris drawing. Smithsonian Institution.
• Perspicaris photograph. Smithsonian Institution.
• Marrella drawing. Smithsonian Institution.
• Marrella photograph. Smithsonian Institution.
• Marrella, from the Canadian Geological Survey.
• You can rotate this model Marrella
• Sidneyia drawing. Smithsonian Institution.
• Sidneyia photograph. Smithsonian Institution.
• Trilobites
  • Naraoia drawing . Smithsonian Institution.
  • Naraoia photograph. Smithsonian Institution.
  • Olenoides drawing. Smithsonian Institution.
  • Olenoides photograph. Smithsonian Institution.

Molluscs

• Wiwaxia drswing . Smithsonian Institution.
• Wiwaxia photograph. Smithsonian Institution.

Lobopods

• Aysheaia drawing. Smithsonian Institution.
• Aysheaia photograph. Smithsonian Institution.
• Hallucigenia photograph. Smithsonian Institution.
• Hallucigenia drawing. Smithsonian Institution.
• Hallucigenia upside down. Smithsonian Institution.

Anomalocarids

• Anomalocaris drawing. Smithsonian Institution.
• Anomalocaris jaws, photograph. Smithsonian Institution.
• Anomalocaris, grasping forelimbs, photograph. Smithsonian Institution.
• Picture of Anomalocaris seizing prey. This image may have been posted outside of copyright.
• Animated anomalocarid
• Another animated Anomalocaris
• Opabinia drawing. Smithsonian Institution.
• Opabinia photograph. Smithsonian Institution.
• Opabinia in action
• Animation of Opabinia

Unknown groups: hyolithids

• Hyolithid drawing. Smithsonian Institution.
• Hyolithid photograph. Smithsonian Institution.
• Amiskwia drawing. Smithsonian Institution.
• Amiskwia photograph. Smithsonian Institution.

  Early Chordate

  • Pikaia drawing. Smithsonian Institution.

  Page last updated, November 17, 2004.

  All links last checked, September 29 2005. My own illustrations from the book are misplaced, and I will get those URLs corrected soon.

  [For images for Chapter 4, click here ]

  [For images for Chapter 6, click here ]

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