Not quite Beatlemania, but arthropods, nonetheless. This time around, we’re looking at nature’s own creepy crawlers- trilobites. Any keen reader of prior posts will note your archivist’s predilection for monsters and the monstrous. Well, trilobites are about as monstrous as you’re going to get in real life (behavior of hominids excepted, of course). Almost incalculably old, multi-legged, and bug-eyed- how could I not have a few of these in the kabinett?
Trilobites are an extinct type of marine arthropod that were almost ubiquitous during the Cambrian period (about 520 million BCE). They managed to make it to the Permian Period (about 250 million BCE) before dying out. Because they were hard-shelled, they left many specimens for us to find in the fossil record. The sheer variance of form (a common theme in these posts) among trilobites adds to their allure. Such is the eerie quality of these creatures that (I believe) they were the inspiration for the parasitic alien invaders in “The Invisibles” episode of the 1960s gothic science fiction television series, The Outer Limits.
Some Trilobitian Tomes
Bohemian Trilobites. 1990
Hardcover book by Milan Šnajdr. Geographical Survey, Prague. About 17 x 28 cm., 270 pp.
Not the type found in Parisian sidewalk cafes, but those unearthed in and around the Czech Republic and Slovenia. Full page black and white photos of historical specimens with accompanying text on facing pages.
An example of said Bohemian.
Fossils Illustrated: Trilobites. 1992
Hardcover book by H. B. Whittington. Boydell Press. About 18 x 25 cm., 148 pp. + 120 B+W plates.
I couldn’t find the swimsuit edition so... This book many detailed photos of trilobites and trilo-bits.
An authoritative scientific text.
Photos for the obsessive...
Treatise on Invertebrate Paleontology. Part O: Arthropoda 1 Trilobita, rev. 1997
Hardcover book by H. B. Whittington, et al. University of Kansas. About 18 x 25 cm., 530 pp.
With a title like this, do you really think I wouldn’t have a copy? This is the bible for arthropod fossils with highly technical text and lots of small black and white illustrations, charts, and images. P.S. The cover is unmarked.
Trilobite paths...
Trilobites every which way.
Trilobite! Eyewitness to Evolution. 2000
Hardcover book by Richard Fortey. Knopf. About 15 x 22 cm., 288 pp.
Every time I see the cover of this book, I can’t help but think the title should be “Trilobite! The Musical!” A nice accessible introduction to the little critters with black and white illustrations and photos.
A look inside...
The Trilobite Book. A Visual Journey. 2014.
Hardcover book by Riccardo Levi-Setti. University of Chicago Press. About 21 x 26 cm., 276 pp.
If you’re looking for a trilobite coffee table book, then this is the one to get. All 235 plates of beautiful specimens are reproduced in color.
All arthropods, all color!
One like this and one like that.
Select Tracks from the Fossil Record
Specimen Drawer. Asst. Cambrian to Carboniferous.
Selection of fossils. Drawer about 40 x 50 cm.
One of several drawers from your archivist’s wunderkabinett of fossils and specimens from nature. Can you spot the imposter?
Olenellus gilberti. Lower Cambrian.
Fossil on matrix. Trilobite about 4 cm.
Not bad looking for 530 million years old!
Up close and personal.
Paradoxides gracilis. Cambrian.
Fossil on matrix. Trilobite about 15 cm.
A fine example of one of those Bohemian trilobites referenced earlier.
Asaphus kowalewskii. Middle Ordovician.
Fossil on matrix. Trilobite about 6 cm.
Eye stalks helped this species survey its surroundings from the safety of a muddy sea floor.
The better to see you with, my dear...
Calymene niagarensis. Middle Silurian.
Fossil on matrix. Trilobite about 4 cm.
Even hundreds of millions of years ago, New Yorkers deployed a protective shell to stave off predators.
A fine illustration of how trilobites got their name- three lobed.
Dalmanites limulurus. Middle Silurian.
Fossil on matrix. Trilobite about 6 cm.
Oh, the tail this one could tell...
I see you...
Proetus granulosus. Devonian.
Fossil on matrix. Trilobite about 3 cm.
The protruding genal spines (points on either side of the head) are quite pronounced on this one.
This is my good side.
Comura cometa. Devonian.
Fossil on matrix. Trilobite about 5 cm.
A particularly spiny specimen.
Paralejurus dormitzeri. Devonian.
Fossil on matrix. Trilobite about 5 cm.
This specimen is one of the many varied species found in present day Morocco.
Baby got pygidium!
Phacops rana. Middle Devonian.
Fossil on stone matrix. Trilobite about 5 cm.
The large eyes on this species suggested to some anatomist frogs, thus the name “rana” (a genus of pond frog).
Ribbit!
Kettneraspis williamsi. Devonian.
Fossil on shale matrix. Trilobite about 3 cm.
A particularly spiny fellow from what we now call Oklahoma.
No sneaking up on this one.
Trilobite Tracks. Carboniferous.
Trace on matrix. Track about 7 cm.
No trilobites here, but an example of what their tracks looked like as they scurried across a muddy seafloor.
They went that’away!
Trilobite Ephemera
Naturhistorischer Gegenstande. 1796.
Engraving on paper from book by Johann Friedrich Blumenbach. About 12 x 20 cm.
A nice and crisp engraving of trilobite extended and enrolled. It is theorized that, when threatened, trilobites would roll up to protect their soft tissue underbelly.
A better look.
Dictionnaire des sciences naturelles... Planches Zoologie: Insectes et Crustacés 1816-1845
Colored engraving by Frédéric Cuvier. About 12 x 20 cm.
This engraving hails from a 73 volume set encyclopedia of just about everything in nature at the time. I assume it was purchased on an installment plan.
Thing One
And Thing Two.
Kunstformen der Natur. 1899-1904
Lithograph from book by Ernst Haeckel. About 26 x 36 cm.
Now this is what a specimen drawer should look like! Ernst Haeckel was a 19th Century polymath who sought unifying theories of art, science, and religion. In the course of his work, he produced many spectacular illustrations.
With overlay.
Tiere der Urwelt. 1910
Lithograph by Heinrich Harder from book by Wilhelm Bölsche. About 27 x 19 cm.
A veritable herd of trilobites by a landscape painter and book illustrator. Harder also did the artwork for a series of collectible cards on prehistoric animals.
Commuter traffic predates almost everything.
Teach Me Prehistoric Animals Flash Cards. 1962
Cardboard flashcard. About 7 x 15 cm.
You’re never too young to learn about trilobites!
Modocia Trilobite. c. 2010
Vinyl toy by Bullyland. About 7 cm.
The imposter from the specimen drawer above, this is one of several trilobite toys from more recent times.
If any of these ancient creatures piqued your interest, I encourage you to research them further. There’s lots to learn about them, from their compound eyes to their vast variety of sizes and forms. Please stop by again in a few weeks (or so) to see what theme from The Collection has been selected the next digital exhibition...
Thank you for visiting.
de Gustibus
“Nothing is but what is not.”