---
title: "5 Trilobites Quotes By Richard Fortey"
description: "5 Trilobites quotes by Richard Fortey. Plus more from Richard Fortey and more Trilobites sayings from other authors."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/777/richard-fortey-24595_change_without-death-there-is-little-innovation_58540.png"
---

> [“Without death there is little innovation. Extinction - death of a species - is part and parcel of evolutionary change. In the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-fortey/without-death-there-is-little-innovation-extinction-death-of-a/)

[Richard Fortey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-fortey/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/777/richard-fortey-24595_change_without-death-there-is-little-innovation_58540.png)

> [“But, for now, I retreated back down the little hidden staircase into the familiar world of the basement of the Natural History…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-fortey/but-for-now-i-retreated-back-down-the-little-hidden-staircase-into/)

[Richard Fortey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-fortey/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/028/richard-fortey-24595_natural-history_but-for-now-i-retreated-back-down-the-li_343052.png)

> [“Trilobites survived for a total of three hundred million years, almost the whole duration of the Palaeozoic era: who are we johnny-come-latelies…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-fortey/trilobites-survived-for-a-total-of-three-hundred-million-years-almost/)

[Richard Fortey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-fortey/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c95/richard-fortey-24595_evolution_trilobites-survived-for-a-total-of-three_1308780.png)

> [“In the Spirit Building there are thousands upon thousands of jars containing fish or snake, octopus or lobster, pickled to the life.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-fortey/in-the-spirit-building-there-are-thousands-upon-thousands-of-jars/)

[Richard Fortey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-fortey/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/32e/richard-fortey-24595_pickle_in-the-spirit-building-there-are-thousan_1955528.png)

> [You must not lie about trilobites, nor yet about time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-fortey/you-must-not-lie-about-trilobites-nor-yet-about-time/)

[Richard Fortey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-fortey/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bce/richard-fortey-24595_lying_you-must-not-lie-about-trilobites-nor-ye_2944486.png)

## More by Richard Fortey

> [“Every new discovery about the genome is consistent with evolution having happened. Whether we find it appealing or not is another question, but personally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-fortey/every-new-discovery-about-the-genome-is-consistent-with-evolution/)

[Richard Fortey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-fortey/)

> [“Without death there is little innovation. Extinction - death of a species - is part and parcel of evolutionary change. In the absence of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-fortey/without-death-there-is-little-innovation-extinction-death-of-a/)

[Richard Fortey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-fortey/)

> [“But, for now, I retreated back down the little hidden staircase into the familiar world of the basement of the Natural History Museum, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-fortey/but-for-now-i-retreated-back-down-the-little-hidden-staircase-into/)

[Richard Fortey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-fortey/)

> [The great proliferation of museums in the nineteenth century was a product of the marriage of the exhibition as a way of awakening intelligent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-fortey/the-great-proliferation-of-museums-in-the-nineteenth-century-was-a/)

[Richard Fortey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-fortey/)

> [“Whether we find it appealing or not is another question, but personally I like being fourth cousin to a mushroom and having a bonobo…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-fortey/whether-we-find-it-appealing-or-not-is-another-question-but/)

[Richard Fortey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-fortey/)

> [“There is no final truth in palaeontology. Every new observer brings something of his or her own: a new technique, a new intelligence, even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-fortey/there-is-no-final-truth-in-palaeontology-every-new-observer-brings/)

[Richard Fortey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-fortey/)

> [I believe profoundly in the importance of museums; I would go as far as to say that you can judge a society by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-fortey/i-believe-profoundly-in-the-importance-of-museums-i-would-go-as-far/)

[Richard Fortey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-fortey/)

> [“Mankind is nothing more than a parasitic tick gorging himself on temporary plenty while the seas are low and the climate is clement. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-fortey/mankind-is-nothing-more-than-a-parasitic-tick-gorging-himself-on/)

[Richard Fortey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-fortey/)

> [“I attempted in vain to calculate the size of the holdings on the shelves, floor on floor, only to boggle hopelessly, baffled by bibliographic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-fortey/i-attempted-in-vain-to-calculate-the-size-of-the-holdings-on-the/)

[Richard Fortey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-fortey/)

> [I wonder if we are seeing a return to the object in the science-based museum. Since any visitor can go to a film like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-fortey/i-wonder-if-we-are-seeing-a-return-to-the-object-in-the-science-based/)

[Richard Fortey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-fortey/)

> [A life accumulates a collection: of people, work and perplexities. We are all our own curators.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-fortey/a-life-accumulates-a-collection-of-people-work-and-perplexities-we/)

[Richard Fortey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-fortey/)

> [“When I meet some of my commuting acquaintances on the 6.21 home to Henley-on-Thames they occasionally enquire what I have done that day. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-fortey/when-i-meet-some-of-my-commuting-acquaintances-on-the-6-21-home-to/)

[Richard Fortey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-fortey/)

> [“Trilobites survived for a total of three hundred million years, almost the whole duration of the Palaeozoic era: who are we johnny-come-latelies to label…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-fortey/trilobites-survived-for-a-total-of-three-hundred-million-years-almost/)

[Richard Fortey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-fortey/)

> [“There might be symphonies of perfume, Mozarts of musk. Novelists might construct nasal narratives, versifiers sonnets of scent. Sculpture would entail subtleties of shape…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-fortey/there-might-be-symphonies-of-perfume-mozarts-of-musk-novelists-might/)

[Richard Fortey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-fortey/)

> [“In the Spirit Building there are thousands upon thousands of jars containing fish or snake, octopus or lobster, pickled to the life. ... As…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-fortey/in-the-spirit-building-there-are-thousands-upon-thousands-of-jars/)

[Richard Fortey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-fortey/)

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