Episode 11: Trilobites and the Cincinnati Sea

Past Time

Over 400 million years ago the oceans were teeming with life, but it didn’t look much like what you see at the aquarium or in Finding Nemo. Instead of colorful fish flitting through coral reefs, the ancient seas had giant, shelled squids darting past the icons of the early ocean: The Trilobites! Journey back to the Late Ordovician sea with Dr. Brenda Hunda, Curator of Invertebrates at the Cincinnati Museum Center. Dr. Hunda has spent her career carefully documenting the changes in trilobites in the remarkable rocks near Cincinnati, Ohio. Trilobites were spectacularly diverse early arthropods (the group that includes crustaceous, insects, and arachnids) that adapted to the ever-changing seas, by swimming through the water, scooting along the ocean floor, and burrowing through the mud for their 300 million year reign. Our journey through the ancient Queen City features the musical talents of two great Cincinnati-area bands: The Cincinnati Dancing Pigs and Jake Speed and the Freddies! Take the plunge into invertebrate paleontology with Matt and Adam in this episode of Past Time!