161Precambrian
Dickinsonia
Dickinsonia costata
Its flat oval body moved across microbial mats like a rhythmically quilted cushion, leaving feeding traces behind.
EXTINCT ATLAS WIKIEXTINCT LIFE ARCHIVEBack to archiveINDEXABLE ERA
Precambrian
Early forms and ecological clues from before the broad radiation of complex animals.
Explore geological time
01 / ANSWER FIRST
What was life like before the Cambrian?
Precambrian fossils record the origin of cells, photosynthesis, eukaryotes, multicellularity and the first large animal-grade communities.
02 / TIME & EVOLUTION
How did this history unfold?
This immense interval spans Earth's formation to 539 million years ago, with major biological transitions separated by gaps far longer than the whole dinosaur era.
03 / TURNOVER & EXTINCTION
What changed these ecosystems?
Oxygenation, snowball-Earth episodes and ecological innovation repeatedly changed what kinds of bodies and metabolisms were possible.
04 / KEY THEMES
Three routes into this topic
First cells
Chemical and microscopic evidence constrain life's early history.
Oxygen revolution
Photosynthesis altered oceans, atmosphere and metabolism.
Ediacaran worlds
Large soft-bodied organisms formed ecosystems before the Cambrian radiation.
05 / EVIDENCE
How do scientists reconstruct this history?
Microfossils, stromatolites, isotopes, molecular biomarkers and Ediacaran impressions each test different claims about early life.
06 / FAQ
Frequently asked questions
What was life like before the Cambrian?
Precambrian fossils record the origin of cells, photosynthesis, eukaryotes, multicellularity and the first large animal-grade communities.
How is the fossil record of this group preserved?
Microfossils, stromatolites, isotopes, molecular biomarkers and Ediacaran impressions each test different claims about early life.
Why did this group change or disappear?
Oxygenation, snowball-Earth episodes and ecological innovation repeatedly changed what kinds of bodies and metabolisms were possible.
07 / SOURCES
Check the topic overview
162Precambrian
Spriggina
Spriggina floundersi
A horseshoe-shaped front led a body of offset leaflike units, giving it the appearance of a flattened soft worm.
163Precambrian
Charnia
Charnia masoni
A featherlike body of repeating branches was anchored by a disc in deep water, yet it had neither chlorophyll nor a mouth.
164Precambrian
Kimberella
Kimberella quadrata
Its low oval body crawled across microbial mats while a front feeding structure left fan-shaped sets of scratches.
201Precambrian
Ernietta
Ernietta plateauensis
Rows of quilted sacks lived half-buried in sand, forming one of the Ediacaran seafloor's strangest communities.
202Precambrian
Rangea
Rangea schneiderhoehni
Six branching vanes surrounded a central axis, making the organism resemble a soft pine cone standing on the seabed.
203Precambrian
Tribrachidium
Tribrachidium heraldicum
Three curving spiral arms created a body symmetry almost absent among living animals.
301Precambrian
Fractofusus
Fractofusus misrai
Its quilted branches lay flat rather than rising from a stem.
302Precambrian
Funisia
Funisia dorothea
Dense stands of narrow tubes formed one of the earliest large colonial scenes.
303Precambrian
Horodyskia
Horodyskia moniliformis
Bead-like discs arranged in strings may record an early macroscopic colony.
304Precambrian
Grypania
Grypania spiralis
Centimeter-wide ribbons curled into regular spirals among the earliest macroscopic fossils.
305Precambrian
Bangiomorpha
Bangiomorpha pubescens
Cell division and branching resemble living red algae and may record early sexual reproduction.
307Precambrian
Ourasphaira
Ourasphaira giraldae
Branching spherical microfossils may push the fungal record toward one billion years.
409Precambrian
Proterocladus
Proterocladus antiquus
Repeatedly branching cell filaments push green-plant history toward one billion years.
410Precambrian
Rafatazmia
Rafatazmia chitrakootensis
Cell partitions and internal platelets were interpreted as very ancient red-algal evidence.
411Precambrian
Ramathallus
Ramathallus lobatus
A lobed multicellular thallus was proposed as an early red-algal body.
412Precambrian
Vendotaenia
Vendotaenia antiqua
Long carbonaceous ribbons resemble soft algae but lack diagnostic organs.
418Precambrian
Doushantuophyton
Doushantuophyton cometa
Branching cellular filaments show complex photosynthetic life before abundant animals.
473Precambrian
Tappania
Tappania plana
Complex branching and septa make it a candidate early eukaryote or fungus.
474Precambrian
Diskagma
Diskagma buttonii
Cup-like bodies linked by filaments have been read as fungi or a microbial colony.
477Precambrian
Chuaria
Chuaria circularis
Circular carbon films may represent a giant single-celled eukaryote traditionally called an alga.
478Precambrian
Tawuia
Tawuia dalensis
Sausage-shaped carbon films may be macroalgae or another early eukaryote.