Photo: Ancient Ocean Cooling Sparked a Biodiversity Boom

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More than 400 million years ago, sea temperatures plummeted to almost present-day levels, opening the door for a dramatic boom in biodiversity, according to research published in July 2008.

Researchers studied teeth of eel-like fossils collected in sites throughout Canada (such as the Devon Island cliffs in Nunavut, seen above) and Australia to measure ancient temperatures.

Photograph by Pete Ryan/NGS

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