Cambrian · 538.8 – 485.4 Ma
Cambrian fossil sites
The Cambrian Period saw the explosive radiation of complex animal life. Almost every major animal phylum we know today first appears in Cambrian rocks, including the trilobites that dominate the period's fossil record. Cambrian sites tend to be in old continental cratons — Morocco, Utah, Wales, and parts of Newfoundland are the most productive.
Fossils typical of this period: trilobites (Paradoxides, Olenellus, Elrathia), brachiopods, sponges, archaeocyathids, and rare soft-bodied Burgess Shale-style biotas.
6 fossil sites
Brachina Gorge Geological Trail Fossil Hunting Guide
Australia
Brachina Gorge Geological Trail, Ikara-Flinders Ranges National Park, Golden Spike, Ediacaran soft-bodied organisms
Cambrian Paradoxides Site North of Alnif Fossil Hunting Guide
Morocco
Paradoxides, Cambropallas telesto, Brachiopods, Trilobites
Fezouata Biota Locality Zagora Fossil Hunting Guide
Morocco
anomalocaridids, Trilobites, Anomalocaridids, Echinoderms
Find Fossils in the Marble Mountains Fossil Hunting Guide
California, United States
Trilobites, Brachiopods, Trace Fossils
Nilpena Ediacara National Park Fossil Hunting Guide
Parachilna
Nilpena Ediacara National Park, Ediacaran fossils, Dickinsonia, Spriggina
U-Dig Fossils Fossil Hunting Guide
Utah, United States
Trilobites, Brachiopods, Phyllocarids