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A Squalodontid Success

On a beach in Piña, Panama the tide is rolling out. Faint outlines of skeletal...

slideshow

The Ocean Throughout Geologic Time, An Image Gallery

Evidence shows that life probably began in the ocean at least 3.5 billion years...

slideshow

Rudist Reefs

About 100 million years ago, during the heyday of the dinosaurs, reefs were built...

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Cretaceous-Paleogene Boundary (65 Million Years Ago)

This rendering shows life at the end of the Cretaceous Period, before the impact of...

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A Mississippian Marine Habitat (359 - 318 Million Years Ago)

Crinoids (echinoderms related to sea stars and sea urchins) dominate the Paleozoic...

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Cambrian Period (542 – 488 Million Years Ago)

The basic body plans of all modern animals were set during the Cambrian Period, 542...

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Ediacaran Community, Proterozoic Eon (2,500 - 542 Million Years Ago)

Earth’s first animals had soft bodies. This illustration shows a community of...

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The Archean Eon (4,600 – 2,500 Million Years Ago)

Humans are late arrivals on Earth. For nearly 75% of Earth’s history, life...

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Ancient Giant Megatooth Shark

A scientific illustration of the most powerful fish of its time, Carcharocles...

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Illustration of Helicoprion

This illustration shows one old idea of what the ancient shark Helicoprion might...

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Recliner Rudists

Where ocean currents were strong, ancient rudist “recliners” lay unattached on...

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Ammonite

Like the modern nautilus, this relative of modern squid hunted from inside the safe...