The answer is 'Cambrian' explosion. This took place approximately 541 million years ago. 'Explosion' refers to the evolution of a large range of new major animal phyla. Scientists know this by the large number of diverse fossils from this period. Prior to this period, organisms were single-celled, but over the Cambrian Explosion, lasting about 80 million years, life forms diversified rapidly to resemble the life forms existing today.