Trilobita

Trilobites are extinct marine arthropods that form the class Trilobita. One of the earliest groups of arthropods to appear in the fossil record, trilobites were among the most successful of all early animals, existing in oceans for almost 270 million years, with over 22,000 species having been described.

Trilobita

PaleoNeolitic (montage creator) · CC BY 4.0 · via Wikipedia/Commons. May be a photograph of a specimen, or an artist’s reconstruction — an interpretation of a skeleton, since colour and soft tissue are almost never preserved.

On record

Recorded, not inferred
Also called
trilobitePBDB
Sits inside
ArtiopodaPBDB
Diet
carnivorePBDB
Life habit
low-level epifaunalPBDB
Motility
fast-movingPBDB
Environment
marinePBDB

Time the record covers

At least 244 million years on record.

The record covers at least 521 Mya to 276.8 Mya. No occurrence read is dated outside 538.8 Mya to 264.9 Mya.

Cambrian — about 2542 of 12000 occurrencesCambrianOrdovician — about 5223 of 12000 occurrencesOrdovicianSilurian — about 2060 of 12000 occurrencesSilurianDevonian — about 1844 of 12000 occurrencesDevonianCarboniferous — about 295 of 12000 occurrencesCarboniferousPermian — about 35 of 12000 occurrencesPermian544–535 Mya — about 4 occurrences535–525 Mya — about 9 occurrences525–516 Mya — about 66 occurrences516–506 Mya — about 718 occurrences506–497 Mya — about 671 occurrences497–487 Mya — about 1022 occurrences487–478 Mya — about 1077 occurrences478–468 Mya — about 1015 occurrences468–459 Mya — about 659 occurrences459–449 Mya — about 1869 occurrences449–440 Mya — about 861 occurrences440–430 Mya — about 778 occurrences430–421 Mya — about 1016 occurrences421–411 Mya — about 709 occurrences411–402 Mya — about 332 occurrences402–392 Mya — about 249 occurrences392–383 Mya — about 551 occurrences383–373 Mya — about 40 occurrences373–364 Mya — about 8 occurrences364–354 Mya — about 43 occurrences354–345 Mya — about 64 occurrences345–335 Mya — about 103 occurrences335–326 Mya — about 68 occurrences326–316 Mya — about 9 occurrences316–307 Mya — about 16 occurrences307–297 Mya — about 12 occurrences297–288 Mya — about 9 occurrences288–278 Mya — about 4 occurrences278–269 Mya — about 13 occurrences269–259 Mya — about 6 occurrences521 Mya276.8 Mya544 Mya259 Mya

12,000+ occurrences of Trilobita on record. Bar height is expected occurrences, not a count: each fossil is spread across the span it is dated to, so a tall narrow bar means tight dating and a low wide one means loose.

When

12,000 occurrences read

These are dates about fossils, not the animal: the record can only begin after it arose and end before it died out, so either end may reach further. Shares are expected occurrences: a fossil dated to a span is counted partly in each period it straddles. The read hit its cap, so every figure above is a floor and the shares are of the occurrences read. More on what this infers.

Found in

at least 818 formations

Deadwood — 43.85°N, 103.36°WDeadwood — 44.42°N, 103.71°WDeadwood — 47.42°N, 105.59°WDeadwood — 47.15°N, 110.22°WDeadwood — 47.98°N, 102.92°WDeadwood — 44.25°N, 103.78°WDeadwood — 44.28°N, 103.73°WDeadwood — 44.25°N, 103.57°WDeadwood — 44.07°N, 103.22°WDeadwood — 44.00°N, 103.00°WDeadwood — 44.22°N, 103.60°WDeadwood — 44.45°N, 104.42°WDeadwood — 43.58°N, 103.55°WDeadwood — 43.53°N, 103.43°WDeadwood — 43.85°N, 103.34°WDeadwood — 44.35°N, 104.00°WDeadwood — 43.82°N, 103.77°WDeadwood — 43.72°N, 103.67°WDeadwood — 44.25°N, 103.38°WDeadwood — 43.53°N, 103.55°WDeadwood — 43.05°N, 103.05°WDeadwood — 44.20°N, 103.45°WDeadwood — 44.08°N, 103.33°WDeadwood — 44.33°N, 103.90°WDeadwood — 44.63°N, 104.38°WDeadwood — 44.35°N, 104.95°WPioche Shale — 37.89°N, 114.61°WPioche Shale — 37.94°N, 114.48°WPioche Shale — 37.76°N, 114.55°WPioche Shale — 37.63°N, 114.52°WPioche Shale — 37.61°N, 114.76°WPioche Shale — 37.62°N, 114.38°WPioche Shale — 37.52°N, 114.79°WPioche Shale — 37.41°N, 114.79°WPioche Shale — 37.90°N, 114.41°WPioche Shale — 37.75°N, 114.55°WPioche Shale — 36.19°N, 115.01°WPioche Shale — 37.53°N, 114.73°WMotol — 50.08°N, 14.47°EMotol — 50.00°N, 17.78°EMotol — 49.95°N, 12.93°EMotol — 49.95°N, 14.22°EMotol — 50.05°N, 14.37°EMotol — 50.03°N, 14.32°EMotol — 49.97°N, 14.13°EMotol — 49.77°N, 13.25°EKopanina — 50.08°N, 14.47°EKopanina — 50.00°N, 14.35°EKopanina — 49.95°N, 12.93°EKopanina — 49.95°N, 14.22°EKopanina — 50.20°N, 12.48°EKopanina — 49.77°N, 13.25°EKopanina — 49.52°N, 13.50°EKopanina — 49.93°N, 14.18°ELudlowville — 42.76°N, 78.65°WLudlowville — 42.78°N, 78.79°WLudlowville — 42.86°N, 77.76°WLudlowville — 42.87°N, 77.88°WLudlowville — 42.83°N, 77.81°WLudlowville — 42.88°N, 78.57°WLudlowville — 42.96°N, 78.13°WLudlowville — 42.80°N, 77.27°WLudlowville — 42.78°N, 76.99°WLudlowville — 42.70°N, 76.75°WLudlowville — 42.83°N, 76.50°WLudlowville — 42.86°N, 76.35°WLudlowville — 42.93°N, 76.22°WLudlowville — 42.85°N, 78.37°WWhittaker — 62.00°N, 127.00°WWhittaker — 62.48°N, 124.78°WWhittaker — 61.52°N, 124.87°WWhittaker — 62.50°N, 126.25°WWhittaker — 63.28°N, 125.35°WWhittaker — 61.48°N, 125.05°WWhittaker — 62.46°N, 124.88°WWhite Head — 48.50°N, 64.25°WWhite Head — 48.57°N, 64.42°WWhite Head — 48.57°N, 64.33°WWhite Head — 48.53°N, 64.22°WWhite Head — 46.88°N, 60.35°WWhite Head — 48.58°N, 68.18°WWhite Head — 46.18°N, 59.82°WWhite Head — 48.67°N, 65.83°WDavis — 39.64°N, 86.86°WDavis — 37.93°N, 90.73°WDavis — 37.84°N, 90.53°WDavis — 37.97°N, 90.03°WOutram — 52.88°N, 118.08°WSurvey Peak — 52.88°N, 118.08°WCarrara — 39.16°N, 119.83°WCarrara — 35.85°N, 116.23°WLochkov — 49.93°N, 14.18°ELochkov — 50.08°N, 14.47°ELochkov — 49.95°N, 14.08°ELochkov — 49.50°N, 14.33°ELochkov — 49.93°N, 14.13°ELochkov — 49.98°N, 14.33°EShallow Bay — 49.25°N, 65.57°WRacine Dolomite — 41.67°N, 88.00°WRacine Dolomite — 43.00°N, 88.00°WRacine Dolomite — 38.97°N, 90.43°WRacine Dolomite — 41.12°N, 88.02°WRacine Dolomite — 42.72°N, 87.78°WRacine Dolomite — 41.57°N, 87.60°WEsbataottine — 62.00°N, 127.00°WEsbataottine — 61.72°N, 125.93°WEsbataottine — 62.17°N, 127.42°WEsbataottine — 61.63°N, 125.73°WEsbataottine — 62.47°N, 124.85°WCape Phillips — 75.13°N, 95.00°WCape Phillips — 75.00°N, 95.00°WCape Phillips — 75.10°N, 94.00°WCape Phillips — 74.10°N, 94.00°WSkaneateles — 42.80°N, 76.69°WSkaneateles — 42.90°N, 76.47°WSkaneateles — 42.97°N, 76.44°WSkaneateles — 42.95°N, 76.43°WSkaneateles — 42.98°N, 76.34°WSkaneateles — 42.94°N, 76.25°WSkaneateles — 42.86°N, 76.15°WSkaneateles — 42.86°N, 76.14°WSkaneateles — 42.93°N, 75.99°WSkaneateles — 42.86°N, 75.89°WSkaneateles — 42.95°N, 75.88°WSkaneateles — 42.89°N, 75.57°WSkaneateles — 42.85°N, 75.58°WSkaneateles — 42.88°N, 75.52°WSkaneateles — 43.00°N, 75.41°WSkaneateles — 42.86°N, 75.42°WSkaneateles — 42.79°N, 75.27°WSkaneateles — 42.85°N, 75.18°WSkaneateles — 42.83°N, 75.02°WSkaneateles — 42.82°N, 75.10°WSkaneateles — 42.81°N, 74.94°WSkaneateles — 42.87°N, 77.88°WBaota — 33.00°N, 111.00°EBaota — 29.00°N, 109.00°EBaota — 28.00°N, 107.00°EBaota — 29.00°N, 107.00°EBaota — 32.00°N, 107.00°EBaota — 28.00°N, 109.00°EBaota — 32.00°N, 108.00°EBaota — 29.00°N, 110.00°EBaota — 29.00°N, 111.00°EBaota — 30.00°N, 111.00°EBaota — 31.00°N, 111.00°EBaota — 27.00°N, 101.00°EBaota — 32.00°N, 118.00°EBaota — 30.00°N, 116.00°EBaota — 33.00°N, 106.00°EBaota — 33.00°N, 108.00°EBaota — 32.00°N, 100.00°EDawan — 33.00°N, 111.00°EDawan — 27.00°N, 108.00°EDawan — 28.00°N, 109.00°EDawan — 32.00°N, 108.00°EDawan — 29.00°N, 109.00°EDawan — 29.00°N, 110.00°EDawan — 30.00°N, 111.00°EDawan — 31.00°N, 111.00°EDawan — 27.00°N, 101.00°EDawan — 30.00°N, 116.00°ETinu — 17.00°N, 96.50°WTinu — 17.37°N, 97.17°WTinu — 17.47°N, 97.23°WTinu — 17.03°N, 97.23°WTinu — 17.03°N, 96.57°WPozary — 49.93°N, 14.18°EPozary — 49.90°N, 14.02°EPozary — 49.95°N, 12.93°EPozary — 49.93°N, 14.13°EPozary — 50.03°N, 14.32°EPozary — 50.03°N, 14.42°EPozary — 50.08°N, 14.47°EPozary — 49.52°N, 13.50°EPozary — 50.00°N, 17.78°EZlichov Limestone — 50.00°N, 14.00°EZlichov Limestone — 49.50°N, 14.33°ERoad River — 62.83°N, 136.58°WRoad River — 64.50°N, 130.00°WRoad River — 62.64°N, 124.97°WRoad River — 65.63°N, 136.73°WRoad River — 65.00°N, 136.00°WRoad River — 65.35°N, 133.50°WRoad River — 62.12°N, 126.68°WRoad River — 61.63°N, 125.73°WRoad River — 62.00°N, 127.50°WRoad River — 61.70°N, 125.55°WRoad River — 62.40°N, 127.50°WRoad River — 65.28°N, 135.70°WRoad River — 65.22°N, 136.68°WRoad River — 65.38°N, 140.30°WRacine — 43.04°N, 87.91°WRacine — 43.05°N, 88.01°WRacine — 42.73°N, 87.78°WRacine — 42.88°N, 88.04°WRacine — 43.01°N, 88.38°W

Loading coastlines…

The named rock units Trilobita has been recovered from, largest first. Drawn where the rock is now, not where it formed. The read hit its cap, so each count is a floor. 794 further formations hold fewer occurrences each and are not listed. 1,569 occurrences have no formation on record, which is common for older literature.

Found in the same rock

1,867 taxa

The Paleobiology Database records at least 536 sites for Trilobita, and this reads 240 of them. The number is how many of those sites it was catalogued from too. The 24 sharing the most are listed.

This is not a list of everything alive at the time. It is only what has come out of the same ground as this animal and been written down.

Entered from

at least 633 references

Each of the 12,000 occurrences read was entered from one of these publications, ordered by how many each accounts for. This is not a search for papers mentioning the name. That read hit its cap, so each count is a floor. 621 further references are not listed. Entries link to doi.org where the Paleobiology Database holds an identifier, and to its own record where it does not. Relayed as the Paleobiology Database holds them, not checked against what they resolve to.

Media and terms

Media content3

Picture of Trilobita

Credit
PaleoNeolitic (montage creator)
Licence
CC BY 4.0
Commercial use
the licence allows it

Structured light scan

Licence
not stated by the source
Commercial use
cannot be read from the licence given — check the record
Specimen
Trilobita indet. · PSAL:ARCH

3D model

Source
Sketchfab
Licence
CC0 Public Domain
Commercial use
the licence allows it

The description on this site

Licence
CC BY-SA 4.0

This is what the site found, which is not the same as what exists.

Keep going

What may have been alongside itArtiopoda through timeThe world it lived on

Occurrence data from the Paleobiology Database, CC BY 4.0. (Walch 1771)