Trilobites may be common as fossils in rocks of Palaeozoic age. Paradoxides shown here (length 133 mm) is characteristic of Middle Cambrian rocks, and so over 500 million years old.
Different types of trilobites evolved through Palaeozoic time, the changes providing a means by which geologists may estimate the relative age of the sedimentary rocks in which they are found. Typically, trilobites lived in the shallow seas which covered continental shelf areas, and their patterns of distribution provide clues to the interpretation of former world geographies very different to that of the present day. Trilobites are studied especially in the first and second years of our degree programmes, to demonstrate principles of functional morphology, evolution and biostratigraphy.


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