One of the most recognizable fossils in museums is the trilobite. These segmented crustaceans, distantly related to modern-day crabs, are something we find extremely fascinating.
Today’s FamilyFirst site has a gallery of nearly a hundred images of trilobites, spanning their ranges from the Cambrian to the Permian eras. It’s called House of Phacops. Here’s their mission:
The Paleo Project was developed for the Internet for educational purposes by the House of Phacops. The House of Phacops was established in 1978. We have provided trilobites and other related fossils to museums throughout the world. The corner-stone of the trilobite collection is now on exhibit in the “Life in the Ancient Seas” gallery at the Smithsonian Institutions, Museum of Natural History until the year 2 010. As time goes on we will be adding more specimens and replicas to this site for sale.
That’s right, not only can you view images of these amazing creatures, you can buy replicas that are identical to the originals, or genuine cruziana! Cruziana, in case you were wondering, are trilobite tracks.
But the highlight of the site is the gallery. Not only are there dazzling images to view, but you can learn about when trilobites were at their most prolific, as well as when their populations became much reduced, eventually leading to extinction.
There is also a book you can order loaded with 162 color photographs of trilobites. You can get your own copy signed by the author for a very reasonable $16.95.
So enjoy today’s FamilyFirst site. Learn about these fascinating, loveable crawling critters from long ago.
http://www.phacops.com
