Cambrian · 538.8 – 485.4 Ma
Cambrian fossil sites
The Cambrian Period saw the explosive radiation of complex animal life. Almost every major animal phylum we know today first appears in Cambrian rocks, including the trilobites that dominate the period's fossil record. Cambrian sites tend to be in old continental cratons — Morocco, Utah, Wales, and parts of Newfoundland are the most productive.
Fossils typical of this period: trilobites (Paradoxides, Olenellus, Elrathia), brachiopods, sponges, archaeocyathids, and rare soft-bodied Burgess Shale-style biotas.
6 fossil sites
Updated 27 July 2026
BLM Trilobite Quarry (Antelope Springs) Fossil Guide
Utah, United States
Trilobites, Elrathia kingii, Asaphiscus, Brachiopods
Burgess Shale Fossil Hike Guide
British Columbia, Canada
Trilobites, Anomalocaris, Marrella, Opabinia
Cambrian Paradoxides Site North of Alnif Fossil Hunting Guide
Morocco
Paradoxides, Cambropallas telesto, Brachiopods, Trilobites
Marble Mountain Fossil Beds: Mojave Cambrian Trilobite Guide
California, United States
Trilobites, Brachiopods, Trace Fossils, Hyolithids
Stonehammer UNESCO Global Geopark Fossil Hunting Guide
New Brunswick, Canada
Paradoxides regina (trilobite), Carboniferous tetrapod trackways, Precambrian stromatolites, Silurian eurypterids
U-Dig Fossils Fossil Hunting Guide
Utah, United States
Trilobites, Brachiopods