When Cambrius and Spriggina died,
Great heroes who had ruled with pride,
Two sons were left to claim their throne:
Bold Protos and Dutrus, each alone.
Each brother saw a different way
To honor what their parents' legacy would say.
The body plan that they had made
Would be interpreted and obeyed.
Great Protos looked upon the form
And said, "I'll keep the ancient norm.
The first hole is the mouth so wide,
The second is where waste will hide."
"The mesoderm is like the past,
Mesoglea that will last.
My mouth shall bear tentacles bright
Like fathers did in ancient sight."
"O heathen, do you not see
The anus brings us victory?
For generations we did bathe
In filth, but now we are saved!"
"We keep our mouths so clean and pure
And eat food nutritious, sure.
The endoderm, ectoderm, three—
The mesoderm—shall ever be!"
"These layers never shall we mix,
For they're civilization's fix.
The foundation, tried and true,
Shall guide us in all that we do."
But bold Dutrus saw it not the same,
He'd make a different claim:
"The second hole's the mouth, I say,
The first hole takes waste away."
"The mesoderm is something more
Than what we've seen before.
Beyond mesoglea it goes,
Where fisherman and shieldmaid grows."
"A reunion, don't you see,
Of ancient unity?
Choanoderm and Archaeocyte
Together in the fight."
"O heathen, can't you understand?
The mouth is progress' hand!
What we take into our core
Shapes what we have in store."
"What we expel is just the past,
But what we eat will last.
By joining old with new again
We'll build a glorious reign."
And so the war began to rage,
Upon history's page.
Whose vision would define the way
For the Cambrian display?
Each brother bore two sons of might
To join the coming fight:
From Dutrus came both brave and true
Dietrich and Saccorhytus too.
From Protos came with valor high
Ectus and Spiralius nigh.
Four grandsons of the ancient line
Would make their fates align.
Strange Saccorhytus had no rear,
No anus did appear.
With no way to expel his waste,
His life would not be graced.
So Dutrus' legacy fell
To Dietrich, who served him well.
The loyal son would carry on
Until his life was done.
The sons of Dutrus, it was known,
Throughout the world had grown
Famous for their heads so wise,
But Dietrich had no eyes.
No head had he to lead the way,
But innovation saved the day.
He built himself a tail so strong
To move his life along.
Through muddy ground he made his path
Avoiding others' wrath.
With two nerve cords to guide his course
He found prosperity's source.
He settled down and built a home,
A colony where he could roam.
His simple plan worked very well
In his ancestral dell.
Great Spiralius kept the faith
And avoided common wraith.
He built his city like a top,
A trochophore that would not stop.
With tentacles both long and wide
He fished from side to side.
No fisherman had been before
As skilled upon the shore.
His wealth grew day by day
In his prosperous way.
The trochophore design proved true
For all that he would do.
But Ectus was a bitter soul,
Resentment was his goal.
The secondborn who felt the slight
Would make his grievance right.
"I'll be the greatest of them all,"
He answered duty's call.
"Among Cambrius' sons I'll shine
And make the victory mine."
His tentacles he changed to teeth,
Ferocious underneath.
He shed his skin to stay young,
While battle songs were sung.
With muscles strong and flexing true
He leaped at all he knew.
His prey would never get away
From Ectus' fierce display.
"O eldest sons, beware!" he cried,
"Take caution in your pride!
The legacy belongs to those
Who defeat all their foes!"
And so he declared a war
That would spread both near and far.
Against Dutrus and Spiralius both
He swore his solemn oath.
The sons of Dutrus, brave and true,
The sons of Spiralius too,
And Ectus with his fearsome might
Prepared for the great fight.
These three great tribes would write
The story of their sight.
Their conflict would define the age
On evolution's stage.
And so began that time of fame
When diversity's flame
Burned bright across the ancient sea:
The Cambrian's legacy.
Bodies burst in forms unknown,
As each tribe made their throne.
Innovations everywhere
Filled the water and the air.
Predator and prey alike
Prepared for war to strike.
Arms races would begin
As each sought to win.
The filter feeders found their place
While hunters gave chase.
Some burrowed deep in mud
While others spilled their blood.
Eyes evolved to see the light,
Shells appeared for the fight.
Claws and spines and armor thick
Made survival's trick.
The explosion had begun
Underneath the ancient sun.
Cambrius' legacy lived on
From dusk until the dawn.
In every creature that we see
Lives this ancient memory:
The choice between the old and new
Shapes all that we do.
Some kept the ancient, simple way
While others chose to stay
Innovative, bold, and bright
In evolution's sight.
The war between the brothers three
Lives on in you and me.
In every choice we make each day
We follow their display.
Innovation or tradition,
Each makes its submission
To the force of life that drives
All that grows and thrives.
So honor brave Cambrius,
Who started all this fuss.
His legacy lives on today
In every living way.
The Cambrian explosion's fire
Burns on with desire
In every form of life we see
Through all eternity.