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Why did active movement emerge specifically in the Cambrian period? What conditions made this evolutionary leap possible?
Between the Ediacaran and the Cambrian periods, Earth’s atmosphere changed — and oxygen levels in the oceans rose significantly. More oxygen meant more available energy — enough to support active metabolism and muscular movement.
This new “evolutionary opportunity” likely gave some animals an advantage: instead of waiting for food to drift toward them, they could actively hunt — or flee danger. These new abilities triggered an explosion of diversity in both species and ecosystems.
This is why we speak of the Cambrian explosion: the moment life shifted from simple, immobile forms to oceans full of animals with eyes, shells, and bodies capable of action — many of which became ancestors of modern species.