Fossils from this era, such as those in the Burgess Shale, reveal a wide array of complex organisms, many representing early ancestors of current species.

This animation created for Evolution: "Great Transformations" depicts creatures whose fossils were found at the Burgess Shale. As alien as these creatures seem, they are also surprisingly familiar.

FROM 508 MILLION YEARS AGO TO TODAYPreserved in the Burgess Shale of British Columbia, the worm Canadia spinosa was part of an explosion in biodiversity during the Cambrian period that gave birth ...

High in Canada’s Rocky Mountains, the animals of an ancient ecosystem can be seen battling for life. The fossils of the Burgess Shale offer a glimpse at the incredible diversity of early life on ...

Professor Brian Cox explores the origins of life on earth with a visit to the Burgess Shale, a very important fossil field in Yoho National Park in the Canadian Rocky Mountains. The fossils here ...

This animation created for Evolution: "Great Transformations" depicts creatures whose fossils were found at the Burgess Shale. As alien as these creatures seem, they are also surprisingly familiar.