Andy Secher - Travels with Trilobites: Adventures in the Paleozoic

Trilobites hold the distinction of being among the worlds first dominant forms of complex animal life, arthropods that rank second only to the hallowed dinosaur in terms of their paleontological appeal. These bizarrely beautiful three-lobed creatures initially appeared in the seas more than 520 million years ago, emerging when the oceans had become ripe for the blossoming of biodiversity. These Paleozoic inhabitants would populate the planets marine ecosystems for the next 270 million years. During that span, trilobites generated more than 25,000 scientifically recognized species - a fact that places these creatures among the most successful animal classes ever to exist on our world. There are a few examples that due to either their unique combination of rarity, beauty, or the noteworthy role theyve played in paleontological history, stand head and shoulders (or perhaps we should say glabella and occipital lobe) above all others. From pristine examples of relatively common trilo-types to one-of-a-kind treasures, the book will feature hundreds of high-resolution photographs of an amazing array of the most incredible specimens of trilobites collected from localities around the globe, including specimens that have never before been seen outside of private collections. Travels with Trilobites explains the varying orders of trilobites, locations around the world where their fossils are found and the time periods those fossils can be dated to, and myriad other points of interest: the first trilobites, the uniqueness of trilobite eyes, trilobite eggs, feeding behavior, behind-the-scenes stories from the fossil collecting world, and more--