Distant relatives of modern lobsters, horseshoe crabs, and spiders, trilobites swam the planet’s prehistoric seas for 300 million years, from the Lower Cambrian to the end of the Permian eras—and they did so very capably. Trilobite fossils have been unearthed on every continent, with more than 20,000 species identified by science. One of the most arresting animals of our pre-dinosaur world, trilobites are also favorites among the fossil collectors of today, their crystalline eyes often the catalyst for a lifetime of paleontological devotion. And there is no collector more devoted—or more venerated—than Riccardo Levi-Setti. With The Trilobite Book, a much anticipated follow-up to his classic Trilobites, Levi-Setti brings us a glorious and revealing guide to these surreal arthropods of ancient Earth.
Featuring specimens from Bohemia to Newfoundland, California to the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show, and Wales to the Anti-Atlas Mountains of Morocco, Levi-Setti’s magnificent book reanimates these “butterflies of the seas” in 235 astonishing full-color photographs. All original, Levi-Setti’s images serve as the jumping-off point for tales of his global quests in search of these highly sought-after fossils; for discussions of their mineralogical origins, as revealed by their color; and for unraveling the role of the now-extinct trilobites in our planetary history.
CONTENTS
Preface
1 Introduction: Why Color?
2.1 Bohemia
2.2 Morocco
Cambrian
Ordovician
Devonian
2.3 Western North America
Cambrian
Ordovician
Silurian
Devonian
2.4 Eastern Newfoundland
2.5 Great Britain
2.6 Russia
2.7 Tucson Gem and Mineral Show
Reputable Originals of Moroccan Trilobite Assemblies and Single Specimens
Moroccan Trilobite Reproductions (Fakes)
Trilobites from Other Reputable Worldwide Sources
3 The Eyes of Trilobites