Animals of the Past

Life on Earth appeared in the oceans about 3.5 billion years ago.
The first organisms to appear may have been unicellular
bacteria, so they are probably the ancestors
of all creatures living today. Multicellular
organisms probably started to evolve
approximately 600 million years
ago. This is when the first
sponges and members
of the phylum Cnidaria
appeared.

Many extinction events
have taken place during
the Earth’s history,
resulting in rapid and drastic
changes in the fauna and flora.
One of the best known extinction
events took place in the Mesozoic era
and caused the disappearance of dinosaurs.

Dickinsonia fossil

The image illustrates the fossilised footprint of Dickinsonia. According to some scientists, Dickinsonia, which may have lived on Earth about 558–555 million years ago, were among the first animals to live on Earth. Their size ranged from
a few millimetres to 140 cm in length.

Charles Robert Darwin (1809–1882)

This English naturalist is considered the founder of the theory of evolution. His theory is based on his experiences during
his journey around the world aboard the HMS Beagle
between 1831 and 1836. In particular,
his observations in The Galapagos
Islands had a great impact
on the young researcher.