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• Basic Overview
 Sea Life and Skeletons
New life forms with stronger structures began to emerge. Life in the Precambrian oceans had consisted of soft-bodied animals that resembled worms. But in the Cambrian oceans, new animals with hard parts such as shells and plates began to appear.
Skeletons had evolved.
The rigid framework provided by a skeleton allowed bodies to grow larger than before. Plus, skeletons provided advantages, such as protection for prey and “equipment” for predators. And skeletons made of minerals were a way of storing chemicals that animals needed for basic cell functions.
Skeletons can be internal (endoskeletons), like yours, or external (exoskeletons), like a snail’s shell.Some, like an insect’s exoskeleton, are made of organic compounds. But most skeletons are made of minerals, which can contain calcium and phosphate. Cells can use these mineral elements for energy to move, break down waste, and just about everything else a cell needs to do.
To view some of the new creatures that lived in Cambrian seas, take a look at the Cambrian & Ordovician Image Gallery.
Or, continue to Ordovician Oceans. >>
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