Just Finished Reading: Trilobite! – Eyewitness to Evolution by Richard Fortey
It’s something you can pick up cheaply in most gem shops – fossilised Trilobites that look like squished odd-looking insects encased in rock. I certainly knew of them before reading this book but I didn’t know that much about them. Trilobites were amongst some of the earliest fossils found back in the 17th Century starting the debate about their place in the scheme of things that eventually led to the Theory of Evolution. They also helped identify the ages of rocks across the whole planet. Once this was established it prompted ideas about plate tectonics and Continental Drift which is so important in understanding geological processes such as earthquakes..
Trilobites are fascinating creatures – the beetles of their time with hundreds of species spanning the whole globe and lasting some 300 million years – that’s 200 times longer than we’ve been around – so they where very successful whichever way you look at them. Part of the fascination of the narrative in this book is that its told as a very personal tale of discovery from the author as a small boy unearthing his first fossil to his life in palaeontology where not only did he have the privilege of naming newly discovered species but also got to name the long vanished oceans they swam in. His stories from all over the world – both personal and historic – bring the study of immense timescales down to a much more human dimension. His comments regarding the Cambrian Explosion – brought to the world’s attention by Steven J Gould – gave me some serious food for thought which will lead to further investigation.
I did struggle with this book a little possibly because it was slightly outside my normal comfort zone – not having read much real science for a while – or possibly that Fortey was so into his subject that he did tend to milk a subject area a little too much on occasion. One thing I do think though – that I might start collecting examples of these fascinating little beasts next time I see one on sale. I can already envisage the glass case full of interesting fossilised creatures. All in all this was a very good start to my anticipated science reading this year. It’s about time I read more things like this
4 comments:
I'm not sure I understand the connection to the theory of evolution. . . It does sound like an intriguing read though it's not my normal reading.
karla said: I'm not sure I understand the connection to the theory of evolution.
There are several connections:
The early discovery of trilobite fossils made people think about where they came from and how they fitted in with other creatures - especially as they didn't seem to exist except in rocks. This chain of reasoning lead to Darwins ideas on the subject.
From another angle since they were around for a very long time they 'saw' quite a lot of evolution going on around them.
Also it became clear from trilobite fossils that evolutionary steps could be seen taking place over time as well as sudden mass extinctions and re-population of areas giving rise to new species. Trilobites are a good place to start investigating evolutionary theory.
karla said: It does sound like an intriguing read though it's not my normal reading.
It's not my normal reading either - though I've picked up a few evolution books lately. I'll let you know when I review them so you can check them out.
My son has inherited my love of rocks and fossils. We pick up stuff at rock shows every chance we get. Rock and fossil collecting is huge here in the Southwest and you can pick up stuff fairly cheap.
Sounds like an interesting book.
dbackdad said: My son has inherited my love of rocks and fossils. We pick up stuff at rock shows every chance we get.
Start 'em young! Excellent. Its certainly a good book to add to the collection if your interested in that sort of thing. More Evolution books coming up...
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