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

A Collection of Cambrian Fossils

When you're standing in a museum surrounded by fossils, you can almost imagine...

slideshow

Under Arctic Ice

Hidden beneath Arctic ice is a world few have ever seen. Take the icy plunge with a...

Photo

The First Filter Feeder

Today, filter feeders like clams, sponges, krill, baleen whales, fishes, and many...

Photo

Cambrian Period (542 – 488 Million Years Ago)

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

Photo

Darwin’s Evolutionary Tree Diagram

This 1837 sketch is Charles Darwin’s first diagram of an evolutionary tree. It...

Photo

Elevator Rudists

These "elevator" rudists, an ancient bivalve, used one long heavy valve to anchor...

Photo

Whales Returned to the Sea

Vertebrates evolved in the sea and eventually moved onto land. The ancestors of...

Personal Perspectives

Spirals in Time: A Walk at the Seashore

When I set out to write a book about mollusks (called Spirals in Time), I wasn't...

Personal Perspectives

The Design of a Beautiful Weapon

This summer, many of you have likely enjoyed feasting on crabs, be they blue,...

video

Claws Out: Fiddler Crabs Do Battle

Male fiddler crabs each have a single super-sized claw that they use as a weapon to...