Trilobites: Prehistoric Bolivia

The trilobite was related to lobsters, horseshoe crabs, and spiders. Trilobites lived from the lower Cambrian period to the Permian period 521 to 240 million years ago, when they went extinct. They almost went extinct 364 million years ago because an asteroid came falling down to the earth and wiped out almost all living things. Trilobites have been found all over the world in areas that are, or used to be covered by seawater. Some species of trilobites grew to be up to 70 centimeters 27 1/2 inches long. There are 20,000 species of trilobite in the world. Instead of bones, trilobites have an exoskeleton. An exoskeleton is when the hard skeleton part of the body is on the outside and the soft parts of the body are on the inside. A trilobite has a shell for protection. Trilobites ate plankton, worms, and other trilobites. The name Trilobite means "three lobes" because their bodies were made of three different sections. The trilobite's weapons were its claws. It's main enemies were sea scorpions. Trilobites lived longer than dinosaurs.


So you're probably wondering what this has to do with Bolivia. Well, the trilobite Eldredgeia venusta is the most common trilobite found in South America, and it's from Bolivia! But what's so interesting is that most of the trilobites in Bolivia are found way high up in the mountains at 12,000 feet 3000 meters or more above sea level. Can you guess how did trilobites get all the way up to the top of the Andes Mountains? Take a guess down in the comments.