Trilobites of New York

Trilobites are the most lifelike of fossils-many well-preserved specimens belie their great antiquity and seem almost ready to arch their bodies, peer about with their compound eyes, and crawl forward as if to complete a journey that was interrupted hundreds of millions of years ago.-from the Foreword "New York State is and has long been a magnet for trilobite hunters. . . . New York's trilobites were among the first illustrated fossils in North America. . . . Many outstanding localities in New York State, from the majestic Ordovician limestone bluffs of Trenton Falls, to the Silurian beds in the great gorge of Niagara River, to the Devonian shale cliffs of Lake Erie, continue to yield abundant and spectacular trilobite fossils. New York strata have also yielded more trilobites with preserved appendages and other "soft parts" than almost any other region of the world. . . . Spectacular, ornate trilobites from New York ranging from a few millimeters to nearly a half meter in length, are featured in museums all over the world."-from the Preface This superbly illustrated book reviews the trilobite fossils found throughout New York State, including their biology, methods of taphonomy (preservation of specimens), and the broader Paleozoic geology of the state. A general chapter on the geology of New York State places the importance of these now-extinct invertebrate marine animals into context. Sixty-seven line drawings and 175 black-and-white photographs illustrate individual species, many represented here by type specimens, and display the eerie beauty that has made New York State trilobites favorites of collectors the world over.

Carlton E. Brett is Professor of Geology at the University of Cincinnati.