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Monday, 9 October, 2000, 15:28 GMT 16:28 UK
Giant trilobite discovered
![]() About twice the size of the previous record holder
By BBC News Online science editor Dr David Whitehouse
The largest trilobite yet discovered has been identified by Canadian palaeontologists.
Trilobites are an extinct group of sea-dwelling arthropods (animals with an outer skeleton and jointed body and limbs) that are distantly related to crabs, scorpions and beetles. They are probably the most common fossils of the Paleozoic Era (about 545-250 million years ago) and scientists use them to help date different layers of rock. "A trilobite of this size really is an amazing discovery," said Dr Graham Young, a member of the team that discovered it. Useful creatures The specimen is an example of a previously unknown species, and was found by researchers studying ancient tropical coasts, of the Late Ordovician and Early Silurian geological periods (458-408 million years ago), in Manitoba, Canada.
Scientists realised just what a monster they had when they started to clean up the specimen. The fossil is now on display in the Manitoba Museum of Man and Nature in Winnipeg. Most trilobites are between 3 and 10 cm (1 - 4 inches) in length. The creatures evolved quickly and were widely distributed, making them useful tools to compare the ages of rock strata in different parts of the world. Colder climates "There is nothing familiar about this particular specimen! It is an important and amazing find," says Manitoba Museum's Dr Bob Elias.
In July 1998, a team of scientists set out for northern Manitoba hoping to find fossils similar to those uncovered by previous digs, like the 43-cm (17-inch) long trilobite excavated in the area a decade before. The team struck lucky just outside their original search area. The trilobite's size contradicts the idea that larger animals are more commonly associated with colder climates. Although northern Manitoba is now sub-arctic, hundreds of millions of years ago it would have been submerged in salty seawater located on the equator. All images courtesy of the Manitoba Museum of Man and Nature
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