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What
are Trilobites? These animated trilobite images courtesy K. Harada |
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What
are Trilobites? These animated trilobite images courtesy K. Harada |
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ANCIENT ARTHROPODS
Trilobites
were among the early arthropods, a phylum of
hard-shelled creatures with multiple body segments and jointed
legs (although the legs, antennae and other finer structures
of trilobites only rarely are preserved). They constitute an
extinct class of arthropods, the Trilobita,
made up of ten orders,
over 150
families, about 5,000
genera, and over 20,000 described species. New
species of trilobites are unearthed and described every year. This
makes trilobites the single most diverse
class of extinct organisms, and within the
generalized body plan of trilobites there was
a great deal of diversity of size and form. The smallest
known trilobite species is under a millimeter long, while the
largest
include species from 30 to over 70 cm in length (roughly a foot to
over two feet long!). With such a diversity of species and sizes,
speculations on the ecology of trilobites includes
planktonic, swimming, and crawling forms, and we can presume they
filled a varied set of trophic (feeding) niches,
although perhaps mostly as detritivores, predators, or scavengers.
Most trilobites are about an inch long, and part of their appeal
is that you can hold and examine an entire fossil animal and turn
it about in your hand. Try that with your average dinosaur!
all line drawings ©1999 - 2009 by S. M. Gon III |
. THE TRILOBITE
BODY PLAN Whatever their size, all trilobite
fossils have a similar body plan, being made up of three
main body parts: a cephalon
(head shield), a segmented thorax,
and a pygidium (tail
piece) as shown at left. However, the name "trilobite,"
which means "three lobed,"
is not in reference to those three body parts mentioned
above, but to the fact that all trilobites bear a long
central axial lobe, flanked on each side by right and
left pleural lobes (pleura = side, rib). These three
lobes that run from the cephalon to the pygidium are
what give trilobites their name, and are common to all
trilobites despite their great diversity of size and
form. You can examine the trilobite body plan in more
detail using the links on the navigation bar below, or
link directly to a page describing trilobite major features.
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| PLEASE EXPLORE
FURTHER Now that you know generally what trilobites are, please feel free to explore this illustrated web guide to the orders of trilobites. You'll learn about trilobite body parts, how scientists classify trilobites, when, where, and how they lived, and how to tell the major groups apart. You'll also learn where to turn for more trilobite information on the web and in the literature. I hope in the end you come to better appreciate their amazing variety. Although they are all extinct now, they represent among the first explosions of biological diversity that this amazing planet of ours has generated over the eons. Return at any time to the home page for access to all pages of this site. |
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Odontopleurida |
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Proetida | Harpetida |
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links shown below are primarily informational and
educational. In keeping with the educational purpose of this website, I am limiting my links to those without a commercial element. If you have any additions, please do contact me via the email at the bottom of this list. Many thanks! Here is a 88x31 blog banner for this site: 
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| FACEBOOK
TRILOBITE GROUP All trilobitophiles welcome! Trilo-experts dwell here! |
| LES NOCTURNE DES TRILOBITES Mimetaster's offering of trilobite images and info (en français & in english) |
| TRILOBITES OF EASTERN NORTH
AMERICA Thomas Whiteley's collaborative summary of this amazing regional fauna |
| BACK TO THE PAST Carlo Kier presents the world's only trilobite exclusive museum |
| THE SOMNIUM Alfer van Rossum's new site on Devonian Trilobites from Belgium |
| MICROMACRO Sinclair Stammers' fossil section includes great trilobite images |
| TRILO 08 Fourth International Trilobite Conference, Toledo, Spain |
| WIR TRILOBITEN Arne Felden's guide to trilobites (auf deutsch and in english) |
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Mark Marshall's
gallery of nicely prepared trilobites from Cambrian to
Post-Devonian
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| ORDOVIC BARRANDIENU Martin David's gallery Ordovician Barrandian fossils (including trilobites!) |
| TRILOBITE
CENTRAL Chris Jenkins' celebration of a rich site bearing undescribed trilobites |
| TRILOBLOG Andrew Scott's eclectic and artistic blog series on trilobites |
| MIDWEST
PALEO Al and Caleb Scheer's focus on trilobites of the Upper Mississippi Valley |
| THE
ONTOGENY OF TRILOBITES Rudy Lerosey-Aubril's comprehensive ontogeny pages |
| TRILOBITE
RESEARCH DIRECTORY A growing global database of trilobite workers by Rudy Lerosey-Aubril |
| WEEKS TRILOBITES Robert Schacht's exceptional Weeks Formation trilobites |
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Mgr. Petr Budill's elegant gallery of Czech trilobites |
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Yoshihiro "Agnostus" Fujita's trilobite display (in Japanese) |
| LES TRILOBITES ORDOVICIENS DE BRETAGNE
Christophe Guillou's regional trilobite showcase (en français) |
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Rolf Ludvigsen's trilobite institute (and The Trilobite Papers!) |
| LOWER CAMBRIAN TRILOBITES
OF SOUTH AUSTRALIA Dave Simpson's collection of Emuella & other Australian endemics |
| WORLD'S BIGGEST TRILOBITE The record-holder courtesy of the Manitoba Museum, Canada |
| TRENTONIAN TRILOBITES
FROM WISCONSIN
Jeremy Shaw's display of the local Ordovician fauna |
| UNIVERSITY
OF UTAH FOSSIL PAGE Superb images of trilobites et al, from Wheeler, Marjum, Weeks, etc |
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Attractive pages highlighting fossils and evolution |
| THE PERIPATUS TRILOBITE PAGE
Chris Clowes' well-ordered site of trilobite information |
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A web article by the staff of the Natural History Museum, London |
| THE AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM'S
TRILOBITE PAGE Greg Edgecombe's trilobite research pages |
| BOLIVIA'S FOSSILS & TRILOBITES
LeGrand Smith's superb set of Trilopics & Links |
| THE TRILOBITE OBSERVER Allart van Viersen's expression of trilobite passion |
| BEDROCK
BUGS Dave Mielke's select gallery of fine trilobites |
| COLLECTION DE TRILOBITES DU MONDE
Jean-Brice Gayet's photographic trilobite diagnoses (en français) |
| TRILOBITEN.DE
Jens Koppka & Heiko Sonntag's superb trilobite website (auf deutsch) |
| AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM TRILOBITE
COLLECTION PAGE
A revolving gallery of trilobites in the Australian Museum |
| WESTERN
TRILOBITE ASSOCIATION An online reference for trilobites of Western NA by trilobitologists |
| TRILOBITES OF THE TRENTON
GROUP Superb site by the Harvard Museum of Camparative Zoology |
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Mark Bourrie's site of
exceptional Canadian trilobites
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Mike Kipping's "most
fascinating creatures of the Paleozoic" (auf deutsch)
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Benedikt Magrean's collaborative trilobite image database |
| OLD AS
THE HILLS... Joe Botting's Ordovician Mid Wales fossil pages include trilobites |
| PUBLIKATIONEN
VON LUTZ KOCH Lutz Koch's superb trilobite gallery & publications (auf deutsch) |
| BEDROCK BUGS GALLERY Justin Maurer's great collection of trilobite images |
| TRILOBITI Enrico Bonino's page on trilobites |
| CINCINNATIAN
TRILOBITES Dan Cooper's highlights of Upper Ordovician Trilobites |
| MINGAN
ISLANDS TRILOBITES Roger Barriault's regional trilobite page |
| This website
has been adapted into hardcopy form  click image to view sample pages |
