Stan and the Fossils

Last Monday, Dr. Stanley E. Prussia (a professor emeritus from the University of Georgia) had his lecture presentation on my class in Rural Electrification and Non-conventional Energy Systems. His topic was on Alternative Energy. Impressively, he tackled different plant designs and the types and applications of alternative energy.

Dr. Prussia (or Stan as what we fondly call him) has delivered a fun lecture. But what really took most of my interest were the fossils he brought along. Yup, he showed to the class several fossils which are totally wonderful. Most of which come from the USA, while the other are he found here in the Philippines, particularly in Cebu. Here are some of his fossils.

Among all the fossils, I am most excited with the Trilobite. Since grade school, I often heard about trilobites and seen them on textbooks. But I have never seen a real fossil of these pre-historic creatures. I consulted my friend Wikipedia and here are the things he has to say about the Trilobites:

• Trilobites were highly diverse and geographically dispersed. Oh, this simply means that they roamed all over the world centuries ago.
• They belong to phylum arthropods – the same group with the crabs, spiders, centipedes, shrimps, insects, or those animals with exoskeleton or external skeleton.
• Trilobites range in length from 1 millimetre (0.04 in) to 72 centimeters (28 in), with a typical size range of 3–10 cm (1.2–3.9 in). The world's largest trilobite, Isotelus rex, was found in 1998 by Canadian scientists in Ordovician rocks on the shores of Hudson Bay.
• Many trilobites had complex eyes; they also had a pair of antennae. Some trilobites were blind, probably living too deep in the sea for light to reach them. Other trilobites (e.g. Phacops rana and Erbenochile erbeni) had large eyes that were for use in more well lit, predator-filled waters.

• Exactly why the trilobites became extinct is not clear; with repeated extinction events (often followed by apparent recovery) throughout the trilobite fossil record, a combination of causes is likely.
• Trilobites are the state fossils of Ohio (Isotelus), Wisconsin (Calymene celebra) and Pennsylvania (Phacops rana).
• Until the early 1900s, the Ute Native Americans of Utah wore trilobites, which they called pachavee ("little water bug"), as amulets. A hole was bored in the head and the fossil was worn on a string.
• The closest extant relatives of trilobites may be the horseshoe crabs.

Anyway, here are some images of the tiny trilobite that Stan brought to the class.