PALAEONTOLOGY[online]

Tag: Lukáš Laibl

Lukáš is a palaeontologist interested in the evolution and development of trilobites, as well as some other arthropod groups. He recently completed his PhD at the Charles University, Prague, and is currently a postdoc at the University of Lausanne. His research is mainly focused on the arthropod life-history strategies, functional morphology, evolutionary trends and phylogeny.

Besides palaeontology, he is also trying (although not always successfully) to draw nature and people. He is self-taught photographer, Star Wars and Star Trek fan, and is addicted to a good Coffee.

Contact Details:

Dr. Lukáš Laibl, Institute of Earth Sciences, University of Lausanne, CH-1015 Lausanne, Switzerland.

by Lukáš Laibl*1 Introduction: Trilobites are an iconic group of ancient animals, with a fossil record that dates back more than 500 million years and consists of some 17,000 species. These extinct arthropods are characterized by a hard, mineralized exoskeleton, which greatly enhances their chances of being preserved as fossils. The exoskeleton is thought to have been mineralised soon after they hatched from eggs, and so we can find various growth stages of trilobites in the fossil record, including individuals less than half a millimetre long. That makes it possible to study the entire post-embryonic development (that is, the development after they hatch from the egg) of numerous species. This is important because work on the development of ancient organisms provides data crucial for ou...