Lesson 5

Early Forms of Life

Objectives 1
identify early life forms
on Earth; and
At the end
of this describe the course of
lesson, 2 evolution for these
students organisms.
should be
able to:
Learn about it!

Evidence of Early Life

The Earth was formed for about 4.5 billion years ago
while the first life form emerged 3.7 billion years ago.

Stromatolites
Challenge Yourself
Challenge Yourself
Some early life forms still exist today, or have
descendants still seen today.
 Learn about it!

Cyanobacteria
• Cyanobacteria or the blue
green algae are prokaryotic
organisms that lack nuclei
in their cells.

• They are photosynthetic.

Cyanobacteria bloom
 Learn about it!

Red Algae
• The first multicellular
organisms are thought to
be red algae that appeared
1.2 billion years ago.

Red algae
 Learn about it!

Trilobites
• These are ancient
arthropods, and are now
extinct.

• Trilobites were the

dominant species during
the Cambrian.
Trilobite illustration
 Learn about it!

Anomalocaris
• One of the most
dominant animals of
the Cambrian Period is
the giant Anomalocaris.

• These organisms reached

up to 6 feet in length.

A replica of the Anomalocaris.

 Learn about it!

Plants
• 450 mya, plants began
to thrive on land.

• 430 mya, vascular plants

appeared.

• 300 mya, conifers

appeared.

Fern frond with spores

 Learn about it!

Terrestrial Vertebrates
• The most ancient
terrestrial vertebrates
were the walking fish. Acanthostega
• 400 mya, the first
tetrapods appeared.
 Check Your Understanding

Complete the table by identifying the most unique

characteristic of each given primitive organism.
Organism Characteristic

Cyanobacteria

Red algae

Trilobites

Anomalocaris

Fern

Gymnosperms

Acanthostega
Key Points

The Earth was formed about 4.5 billion years ago

1
while the first life form emerged 3.7 billion years ago.

2 The Cambrian explosion is an event that happened

around 541 million years ago in the Cambrian period.

The Cambrian explosion resulted in the divergence

3
of most modern animals and plants.