Trilobites!

I have always been very fond of Trilobites - they kind of remind me of giant sea woodlice, another creature I have always had a soft spot for - they even curl up in defence in the same way! So I was delighted to discover these when watching David Attenborough the other day. I had no idea they had glamorous spines and very powerful eyes for the time that unlike any other creature were not soft but had lenses made from crystal - each one completely different depending on whether they lurked under mud or swam through the ocean - some even had wrap around eyes like crystal sunglasses - some even had solid visors to protect their eyes from the light! Here are some particularly good photos of ones found in Morocco - people think they are so well preserved here as they were buried in a landslide millions of years ago. It's making me nostalgic for my I Love Trilobites t-shirt I had as a teenager to add that extra something to my indie disco outfits... If you want to read a really good book about trilobites I would recommend "Trilobite! Eyewitness to evolution" by Richard Fortey, the fabulous expert from the Natural History Museum in London.