Compare the Difference Between Similar Terms

Difference Between

Home / Science & Nature / Science / Biology / Evolution / Difference Between Ediacaran Extinction and Cambrian Explosion

Difference Between Ediacaran Extinction and Cambrian Explosion

March 22, 2020 Posted by Dr.Samanthi

The key difference between Ediacaran extinction and Cambrian explosion is that Ediacaran extinction is the first know mass extinction of macroscopic eukaryotic life while Cambrian explosion is the sudden appearance in the fossil record of complex animals with mineralized skeletal remains.

Ediacaran extinction and Cambrian explosion are two events that are most important in the history of life on Earth. Ediacaran extinction immediately precedes the Cambrian explosion. Ediacaran extinction refers to the mass extinction of macroscopic animals. It is followed by Cambrian explosion or the rapid appearance of mineralized skeletons and complex trace fossils of complex animals. Ediacaran extinction occurred 542 million years ago while Cambrian explosion occurred 541 million years ago.

CONTENTS

1. Overview and Key Difference
2. What is Ediacaran Extinction 
3. What is Cambrian Explosion
4. Similarities Between Ediacaran Extinction and Cambrian Explosion
5. Side by Side Comparison – Ediacaran Extinction vs Cambrian Explosion in Tabular Form
6. Summary

What is Ediacaran Extinction?

Ediacaran extinction is the mass extinction that occurred at the end of the Ediacaran period. It occurred 542 million years ago. The first appearance of the macroscopic animal occurred twenty million years before the Ediacaran extinction. This is the Earth’s first know mass extinction event. During this extinction, Ediacaran biota and calcifying organisms suddenly disappeared. Ediacaran biota includes soft-bodied organisms which are macroscopic, multicellular and complex organisms. Calcifying organisms possessed a carbonate skeleton. Two types of calcifying organisms that disappeared in Ediacaran extinction are Cloudina and Namacalathus.

Difference Between Ediacaran Extinction and Cambrian Explosion

Figure 01: Life in the Ediacaran Sea

Over time, the extinct animals were progressively replaced by newly evolved animals. The exact cause for the Ediacaran extinction is still unknown. However, some evidence suggests that the loss of dissolved oxygen level in Earth’s oceans caused a greater effect on marine anoxia. It is believed that marine anoxia contributed to the decline and eventual extinction of the early animals.

What is Cambrian Explosion?

Cambrian explosion is the sudden appearance in the fossil record of complex animals with mineralized skeletal remains. In other words, Cambrian explosion is the rapid appearance of mineralized skeletons and complex trace fossils. It occurred after one million years of Ediacaran extinction, so it took place 541 million years ago.

Similar to Ediacaran extinction, Cambrian explosion is one of the most important evolutionary events that occurred in the history of life on Earth. It was a rapid event that occurred during a short time and also a remarkable process due to the revealing of the most major animal body plans in the fossil records. However, the majority of the fossils discovered in Cambrian explosion are poorly understood and difficult to classify.

Key Difference - Ediacaran Extinction vs Cambrian Explosion

Figure 02: Timeline of Life on Earth

During this time period, the rapid appearance of a wide variety of animals took place. Therefore, the new ecological interactions developed between organisms. Moreover, ecosystems became more complex as the number and variety of organisms increased.

What are the Similarities Between Ediacaran Extinction and Cambrian Explosion?

  • Ediacaran extinction and Cambrian explosion are two-phased biotic turnover events that occurred in Ediacaran–Cambrian transition.
  • Both processes describe the Earth’s first major biotic crisis of macroscopic eukaryotic life.
  • Ediacaran Period took place just prior to Cambrian Explosion.

What is the Difference Between Ediacaran Extinction and Cambrian Explosion?

Ediacaran extinction is the mass extinction that occurred at the end of the Ediacaran period while Cambrian explosion is the sudden appearance in the fossil record of complex animals with mineralized skeletal remains. So, this is the key difference between Ediacaran extinction and Cambrian explosion. Moreover, Ediacaran extinction occurred 542 million years ago while Cambrian explosion occurred 541 million years ago.

Besides, another difference between Ediacaran extinction and Cambrian explosion is that the major event of the Ediacaran extinction is the mass extinction of macroscopic eukaryotic life, but the major event of the Cambrian explosion is the sudden appearance of mineralized skeletons and complex trace fossils.

Difference Between Ediacaran Extinction and Cambrian Explosion in Tabular Form

Summary – Ediacaran Extinction vs Cambrian Explosion

Ediacaran extinction is the mass extinction that occurred in Ediacaran biota and calcifying organisms at the end of the Ediacaran period. They were macroscopic eukaryotic organisms. After a million years of Ediacaran extinction, Cambrian explosion occurred. It is the sudden appearance of mineralized skeletons and complex trace fossils. So, this is the main difference between Ediacaran extinction and Cambrian explosion.

Reference:

1. “The Burgess Shale.” The Cambrian Explosion – Origin of Animals and the Cambrian Explosion – Science, 10 June 2011, Available here.
2. G, Lidya, et al. “Ecological Expansion and Extinction in the Late Ediacaran: Weighing the Evidence for Environmental and Biotic Drivers.” OUP Academic, Oxford University Press, 27 Apr. 2018, Available here.

Image Courtesy:

1. “Life in the Ediacaran sea” By Ryan Somma – Life in the Ediacaran SeaUploaded by FunkMonk (CC BY-SA 2.0) via Commons Wikimedia
2. “LifeTimeline-TemplateImage-20200101”  By Drbogdan – Own work (CC BY-SA 4.0) via Commons Wikimedia

Related posts:

Difference Between Microevolution and MacroevolutionDifference Between Microevolution and Macroevolution Difference Between Early Man and Modern ManDifference Between Early Man and Modern Man Difference Between Directional and Disruptive SelectionDifference Between Directional and Disruptive Selection Difference Between Founder Effect and Genetic DriftDifference Between Founder Effect and Genetic Drift Difference Between Maximum Parsimony and Maximum LikelihoodDifference Between Maximum Parsimony and Maximum Likelihood

Filed Under: Evolution

About the Author: Dr.Samanthi

Dr.Samanthi Udayangani holds a B.Sc. Degree in Plant Science, M.Sc. in Molecular and Applied Microbiology, and PhD in Applied Microbiology. Her research interests include Bio-fertilizers, Plant-Microbe Interactions, Molecular Microbiology, Soil Fungi, and Fungal Ecology.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Request Article

Featured Posts

Difference Between Coronavirus and Cold Symptoms

Difference Between Coronavirus and Cold Symptoms

Difference Between Coronavirus and SARS

Difference Between Coronavirus and SARS

Difference Between Coronavirus and Influenza

Difference Between Coronavirus and Influenza

Difference Between Coronavirus and Covid 19

Difference Between Coronavirus and Covid 19

You May Like

Difference Between Pewter and Silver

Difference Between Pewter and Silver

What is the Difference Between Oleoresin and Essential Oil

What is the Difference Between Oleoresin and Essential Oil

Difference Between Male and Female Gametogenesis

Difference Between Male and Female Gametogenesis

Difference Between Agile and Waterfall

Difference Between Integral Proteins and Peripheral Proteins

Latest Posts

  • What is the Difference Between Azelaic Acid and Niacinamide
  • What is the Difference Between Xanthophyll and Carotene
  • What is the Difference Between Erythrose and Erythrulose
  • What is the Difference Between Allergens and Allergies
  • What is the Difference Between Kojic Acid and Hydroquinone
  • What is the Difference Between Beta Glucan 1 3 and 1 6
  • Home
  • Vacancies
  • About
  • Request Article
  • Contact Us

Copyright © 2010-2018 Difference Between. All rights reserved. Terms of Use and Privacy Policy: Legal.