Period · Paleozoic
Cambrian
539–487 Ma
The Cambrian is a period within the Paleozoic, spanning roughly 539 to 487 million years ago. It opens the Phanerozoic with the first mineralised skeletons; trilobites from the Wheeler Shale and the Burgess Shale fauna belong here.
| Rank | period· Paleobiology Database |
|---|---|
| Base | 539 Ma· Paleobiology Database |
| Top | 487 Ma· Paleobiology Database |
| Duration | 51.9 Myr· Paleobiology Database |
| Chart | ICS International Chronostratigraphic Chart v2023/09 (ages from Macrostrat/PBDB interval tables) |
Elsewhere
Cite this article
Stratum Study. "Cambrian" (Time interval). Stratum Study pack 2026.09, as of 2026-09-19. https://stratum.black/study/time/cambrian. Accessed 2026-09-20.
@misc{stratum-cambrian,
title = {Cambrian},
author = {{Stratum Study}},
howpublished = {\url{https://stratum.black/study/time/cambrian}},
year = {2026},
note = {Time interval article, Stratum Study pack 2026.09, as of 2026-09-19; sources: stratum, pbdb. Accessed 2026-09-20.}
} Citations carry the pack version and the article's as-of date so they resolve to the same text later. The facts themselves belong to the sources listed below; cite those for the science.