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ANTHROPODA LUNARUS |
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One of the most interesting things about this fossil is the ways that it
is similar to some earth species. Let's have a look at some of them:
TRILOBYTES: The trilobytes were anthropods that lived at the same time as the dinosaurs and went extinct at the same time as they did too. There are many really cool trilobyte fossils in museums and I've even seen some for sale on the internet. Let's take a look at some trilobytes now and see how similar they are to their lunar cousin. (Just remember that trilobytes are way smaller than the fossil on the moon! Some of them are only a couple of inches across).
In the photo on the right, you can see the large compound eyes of a trilobyte fossil. See how similar they are too the ones on the moon fossil! They take up about the same amount of space on the head, and you can also see the different texture on them the way you can see it in the high contrast photo of the moon fossil.
OK this is another different kind of trilobyte. I have put a circle around its head because this one is a bit confusing to look at. What is important to notice here is that trilobytes also had body segments just like the fossil on the moon does. This particular kind of trilobyte has more joints though. LIVING ANIMALS You should know that although the trilobytes are all dead, they have some relatives that are still alive. These also look a bit like trilobytes and also like the moon fossil. Let's have a look at them.
The animal on the right is called a Horseshoe Crab and anyone whose ever lived on the atlantic coast has seen plenty of these. Although it's called a "Crab", it's not really a "Crab", but as you can see is more like a trilobyte. Horseshoe "Crabs" today have only very little eyes like you can see in the photograph. But if you imagine one with big eyes, you can see that it would look very much like the moon fossil and its trilobyte ancesters.
This is the last living animal that the moon fossil looks like. I found this by accident on the internet. It's called the "Spanner Crab" and it lives in Australia but like the "Horseshoe Crab", it's not really a "Crab" at all, but is another animal related to trilobytes. Well, if any one out there knows more animals on earth that might be related to the moon fossil please email me and tell me about it! The next page has the FAQ for this sight. Click here to continue.
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