This week we’re going way back - back to before the dinosaurs were even a 'twinkle in their dad's eye'. We’re talking about Trilobites!
These little armoured creatures started scuttling around on the seafloor over 500 million years ago, during the Palaeozoic Era. Think supersized underwater woodlice, with an impressive evolutionary run that lasted over 270 million years - not a bad go eh?!
The name Trilobite has nothing to do with it's biting capacity and actually refers to the three lobes running lengthways along their body: a central axis lobe, and two pleural lobes on either side. They’re also split into three distinct body parts: the cephalon (head), thorax (middle/body), and pygidium (tail).
This week’s sketch shows one of these ancient arthropods all labelled up, so you can get familiar with your trilobite anatomy. Despite their size (most were only a few cm long), they were incredibly diverse - some had spiny protrusions, some had huge eyes, some were blind cave-dwellers, the variations are almost endless! Future Fossil Fridays may well feature some of their more flamboyant cousins in more detail!
Fun fact: Trilobites were among the first creatures to develop complex, compound eyes - with lenses made of Calcite believe it or not!
