Trilobites from the USA
Discover Trilobites from the USA
UK Trilobites
See classical Trilobites from the UK
Trilobites Portugal
See decorative Portuguese Trilobites.
Ordovician Trilobites Morocco
Trilobites from the Ordovician of Morocco
Devonian Trilobites Morocco
Enjoy wonderful Trilobites from the devonian of Morocco.
Cambrian Morocco Trilobites
Devise Trilobites from the the Cambrian of Morocco
Trilobites from Morocco
Find Trilobites from Morocco.
French Trilobites
Exotic Trilobites from France.
Chinese Trilobites
New Trilobites from China for sale.
Bolivian Trilobites
Unusual Trilobites from Bolivia
Trilobites from Germany
Classical German locality's with classical German Trilobites
Czech Trilobites
Fine and classical Czech Trilobites.
Here you can find trilobites for sale from many different locations and ages.
Trilobite are one of the most diverse and fascinating fossils form the Palaeozoic.
Already from the dawn of complex life on earth Trilobites where present with a huge diversity. Actually was about 540 million years ago in the Cambrian are the fist golden time of trilobite. In that period Trilobites evolve in a huge diversity and already conquer the Oceans. Some tribes of Trilobites already extinct in the upper Cambrian. Such as the Trilobite Order of Redlichiida . Also the highly specialized Agnostids (Order Agnostida) where decimated to a few species.
But many new and fascinating trilobite species raised and tribe in the Ordovician.
The first true crises for Trilobites came in the upper Ordovician in the from of a huge ice age.
In the so called Hirnantian stage (about 443 million years ago) a major glaciations caused a global extinction event. About 50% of all species of that time died out in this event.
This had also a impact on the Trilobites in that time two complete Trilobite orders extinct. So the already decimated Agnostids did finally died out along with the devise Order of Ptychopariida. The Order of Asaphida that where one of the most successful trilobite orders of the Ordovician where seriously reduced to a few genus.
The Asaphida made it till the late Silurian. But the Silurian period ware begin the age of the Trilobite of Phacopida . Some members of the Order Phacopida had the most complex and best evolved eyes in the world of arthropods. Even today living arthropods do not show such advanced eyes that some the Phacopid Trilobites evolved so long ago.
The Silurian was mainly warm so all remaining trilobite “tribes” could prepare for there final golden age. The Devonian period offers some of the most beautiful and bizarre Trilobites.
Even some of the most spiny trilobites like Dicranurus monstrosus (known from Morocco and the Czech Republic) and the or Ceratarges armatus (from the Devonian of Germany) emerge in this period of earth history. There is a theory that Devonian trilobites evolved more spines and some also a thicker carapace in the Devonian because the predation pressure of early fish that where also more diverse in the Devonian period.
This last flourish time for trilobites ended in the upper Devonian with the so called Kellwasser crisis. This mass extinction event killed another time about 50% of all species on earth.
But it hit especially the order of trilobites very hard. From the remaining six orders of Trilobites that survived all that time to the upper Devonian age only one survived the Kellwasser Crysis. So the Trilobite orders Corynexochida, Odontopleurida, Lichida, Harpetida and even the order of Phacopida where vanished in that time.
Only the relative conservative order of Proetida survived about for a other 100 million years in the Palaeozoic oceans of earth. In the begin of the Carboniferous age the Proetida where reduced to a few species. They show some diversification but the fate of the order of Trilobites was sealed. In the Permian was slightly digressive for the remaining Trilobites.
They seem to be more rare in that age. But it has to be regarded that marine sediments from the Permian age are relative sparsely exposed.
However in the late Permian came a other drastic mass extinction event. In the late Permian mass extinction died about 95% of all marine species out in a time span of only 200000 years. This was finally the end for the Trilobites.
Trilobites are anyway one of the most successful groups in earth history.
They successfully survived 3 extinction events. They last for more than 250 million years on Planet earth. For instance are the oldest known fossils of Humans (only for species Homo sapiens Linnaeus, 1758) are only 160000 years old. This is nothing compared with the more than 250000000 years of trilobite history.
Trilobites where one of the most diverse, most successful and one of the dominating animal groups of the Palaeozoic.
There are way more than 20000 trilobite species known, and there are still many unknown species around. There is never a complete trilobite collection that has all trilobite species that are known. And every year many new trilobites will still be discovered. Some trilobite species are known and provided by the commercial trilobite market for years before they are scientifically described and named.
And this makes Trilobites just fascinating and very collectible.