Rather than a constant upward trajectory of evolution, it’s been billions of years of boom-and-bust cycles – first an explosion of life, and then a mass extinction of all but the most hardy hangers-on ...

A new study of ancient fossil trails pushes the origins of complex life deeper into Earth’s history, before the Cambrian Period began.

A groundbreaking study suggests that the famous Cambrian explosion—the dramatic burst of diverse animal life—might have actually started millions of years earlier than we thought. By analyzing ancient ...

He soon discovered that biologist Bruno Becker Kerber, from the Brazilian Synchrotron Light Laboratory (LNLS), in Campinas, was also preparing a review article about Ediacaran fauna, and they decided ...

Researchers from the University of Rochester studied Earth's magnetic field during the Ediacaran period. This research raises questions about the factors that could have favored the emergence of ...

The Ediacaran Period, which lasted from 635 to 541 million years ago, was home to a unique group of organisms known as the Ediacaran fauna. These soft-bodied creatures, which included Dickinsonia and ...

While we know of many Ediacaran species, this little sea vacuum is a significant find – because, unlike the others, its ridged back with a question-mark-like indent detailed clear left and right ...

Fossil impression of Dickinsonia, an example of Ediacaran fauna, found in present-day Australia. Credit: Shuhai Xiao/Virginia Tech. Millions of years ago, during a period called the Ediacaran ...

Earth’s magnetic field was in a highly unusual state when macroscopic animals of the Ediacara Fauna diversified and thrived. Image credit: NASA. Between 600 and 540 million years ago, life on Earth ...