[Rockhounds] Grand Canyon fossils reveal secrets that will force rewrite of evolution textbooks

[Kreigh Tomaszewski]

Our planet Earth has a mesmerizing history that spans across 4.6 billion
years. For a majority of this immense timeframe, single-celled life reigned
supreme.

But, about 500 million years ago, everything changed immensely. A dramatic
occurrence took place known as the Cambrian “explosion.”

During this period, an enormous diversity of life forms made an appearance
and found a place for themselves in the fossil record.

Imprinted in these preserved fossils, we can find traces of diverse animal
groups that eventually evolved into animal species we see around us today,
including us humans.
Grand Canyon reveals Earth’s past

Now, an intriguing paper published by a team of researchers from The
University of New Mexico (UNM <https://www.unm.edu/>) has added fresh
insights into this fascinating event in Earth’s history
<https://www.earth.com/news/mountain-building-triggered-a-mass-extinction-event/>
.

“The Tonto Group of Grand Canyon holds a treasure trove of sedimentary
layers and fossils chronicling the Cambrian Explosion some 500 million
years ago, when the first animals with hard shells rapidly proliferated and
sea levels rose to envelop continents with emerging marine life,” said
Carol Dehler, professor at Utah State University <https://www.usu.edu/>.

https://www.earth.com/news/grand-canyon-fossils-reveal-secrets-of-the-cambrian-explosion/