home   Printer friendly version Add to site
Advanced search
Time & Space Fossil Gallery Famous Flora & Fauna
Careers Resources K-12 Collections PaleoPeople

Trilobites

See More Images
(74 total)

Diacalymene clavicula
Diacalymene clavicula
© 1998 Dr. Richard Paselk, Humboldt State University Natural History Museum

Dicranurus hamatus elegantus
Dicranurus hamatus elegantus
© 2003 The Virtual Fossil Museum

Odontocephalus aegeria Hall
Odontocephalus aegeria Hall
© 2003 Falls of the Ohio State Park

What are Trilobites? Trilobites are perhaps the most famous and easily recognized fossil invertebrate group. The name comes from the length wise division of the body into three lobes—two side (pleural) lobes separated by one central (axial) lobe. All trilobites had antennae and legs with two branches, one used for locomotion and the other for respiration. Some had compound eyes, like a modern fly. Trilobites were strictly marine animals, but they were very diverse, living in both shallow and deep waters.

First known fossil occurrence: Cambrian.

Last known fossil occurrence: Permian.

Cool Trilobites links:

Search for images of Trilobites on Google

See Trilobites from the:

Quaternary
Tertiary
Cretaceous
Jurassic
Triassic
Permian
Carboniferous
Devonian
Silurian
Ordovician
Cambrian
Precambrian
help