From the earliest single-celled life to vertebrates colonizing land, see how the animal world diversified again and again, enduring mass extinctions and recoveries that reshaped Earth's ecosystems. Nodes are arranged radially to show relatedness, each labeled with its origin time. Drag the timeline below to view which groups existed at that moment — groups that hadn't appeared yet are hidden; groups that had appeared glow teal if still alive at that point, or turn into a red dashed line if already extinct. Click a node for details, which highlights its connecting path back to the origin of life; hover for a quick summary.