--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Trilobites survived for a total of three…" description: "\"“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 la..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c95/richard-fortey-24595_evolution_trilobites-survived-for-a-total-of-three_1308780.png" --- # Trilobites survived for a total of three hundred million… ![“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 them as either ‘primitive’ or ‘unsuccessful’? Men have so far survived half a per cent as long. There” quote by Richard Fortey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c95/richard-fortey-24595_evolution_trilobites-survived-for-a-total-of-three_1308780.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c95/richard-fortey-24595_evolution_trilobites-survived-for-a-total-of-three_1308780.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c95/richard-fortey-24595_evolution_trilobites-survived-for-a-total-of-three_1308780.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 to label them as either ‘primitive’ or ‘unsuccessful’? Men have so far survived half a per cent as long. There”” [Richard Fortey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-fortey/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Trilobites thrived for millions of years, yet humans have existed briefly; labeling them “primitive” is short‑sighted. **In simple terms:** Trilobites lived long, humans short; avoid judging by duration. Key Takeaway Respect deep time and avoid simplistic labels. Themes evolution deep time humility Mood thoughtful humbling Type scientific philosophical When to use this quote - education - science communication - philosophical discourse Key Concepts paleontology anthropology existential perspective Questions to Reflect On - How does perspective on deep time affect your actions? - What biases arise when judging ancient life? A Different Perspective Human history is fleeting compared to Earth’s timeline. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Duration Palaeozoic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/duration-palaeozoic-4323616/) [Evolution](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evolution/) [Million years](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/million-years/) [Survived Half](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/survived-half-4323617/) [Trilobites](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trilobites-194455/) [Trilobites Survived](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trilobites-survived-4323615/) ## Related quotes > [“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/) > [“In the Spirit Building there are thousands upon thousands of jars containing fish or snake, octopus or lobster, pickled to the life. ... 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They are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-osborne/one-winter-i-went-to-erfoud-to-research-trilobites-and-got-to-know/) [Lawrence Osborne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-osborne/) > [“I'm doing now with cornets exactly what I used to do with trilobites: measuring, analyzing and cataloging the myriad gradations of their forms.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niles-eldredge/i-m-doing-now-with-cornets-exactly-what-i-used-to-do-with-trilobites/) [Niles Eldredge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niles-eldredge/) > [“I lean back, try to forget these fields and flanking hills. A long time before me or these tools, the Teays flowed here. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/breece-d-j-pancake/i-lean-back-try-to-forget-these-fields-and-flanking-hills-a-long-time/) [Breece D'J Pancake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/breece-d-j-pancake/) > [“A very long time ago, some 2.5 million years B.C., the mother of human species as we know it, our ultimate ancestor, appeared in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-f-cantor/a-very-long-time-ago-some-2-5-million-years-b-c-the-mother-of-human/) [Norman F. Cantor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-f-cantor/) > [A million years of evolution, Eric said bitterly, and what are we? Animals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/a-million-years-of-evolution-eric-said-bitterly-and-what-are-we/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [“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/) > [Sometimes,” he said after a second that lasted a million years, “things get broken. And they can’t be fixed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-hart/sometimes-he-said-after-a-second-that-lasted-a-million-years-things/) [Megan Hart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megan-hart/) > [“In God's scheme what is a few billion years here and there. Perhaps there have come and gone a dozen human civilizations in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-uris/in-god-s-scheme-what-is-a-few-billion-years-here-and-there-perhaps/) [Leon Uris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-uris/) > [No, I would never in a million years compare anything we've done to anything we've previously done. I don't believe in it - I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-root/no-i-would-never-in-a-million-years-compare-anything-we-ve-done-to/) [Jim Root](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-root/) > [I spent a million years looking for you and all I got is half of my heart for you](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meow/i-spent-a-million-years-looking-for-you-and-all-i-got-is-half-of-my/) [Meow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meow/) ## 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. 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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/) > [“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/) > [“I recall the words of Charles Darwin in his Autobiography. ‘I rejoice that I have avoided controversies, and this I owe to Charles Lyell,\*…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-fortey/i-recall-the-words-of-charles-darwin-in-his-autobiography-i-rejoice/) [Richard Fortey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-fortey/) [Explore all 24 Richard Fortey quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-fortey/) ## More Evolution quotes > [I rap when I'm rich. I rap when I'm broke. I rap when I'm bullshit in the street. I rap about only having one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/killer-mike/i-rap-when-i-m-rich-i-rap-when-i-m-broke-i-rap-when-i-m-bullshit-in/) [Killer Mike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/killer-mike/) > [At the deepest level, all living things that have ever been looked at have the same DNA code. And many of the same genes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/at-the-deepest-level-all-living-things-that-have-ever-been-looked-at/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [“A question for Christians who accept evolution: When did we gain a "soul"? Did Homo habilis have a soul? Homo ergaster? Did God only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-g-mcafee/a-question-for-christians-who-accept-evolution-when-did-we-gain-a/) [David G. McAfee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-g-mcafee/) > [If the polymer chain assumes a helicoidal conformation in the crystalline state, and if it does not contain asymmetric carbon atoms, it can be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giulio-natta/if-the-polymer-chain-assumes-a-helicoidal-conformation-in-the/) [Giulio Natta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giulio-natta/) > [“Genetics is a science full of gods, Mr. Sanchez.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/valeria-luiselli/genetics-is-a-science-full-of-gods-mr-sanchez/) [Valeria Luiselli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/valeria-luiselli/) > [We became Homo sapiens not that long ago, from the scientific perspective, and we've retained a lot of our beast nature. We've done all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wangechi-mutu/we-became-homo-sapiens-not-that-long-ago-from-the-scientific/) [Wangechi Mutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wangechi-mutu/) > [Guns have little or nothing to do with juvenile violence. The causes of youth violence are working parents who put their kids into daycare,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-delay/guns-have-little-or-nothing-to-do-with-juvenile-violence-the-causes/) [Tom DeLay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-delay/) > [The fact -- not theory -- that evolution has occurred and the Darwinian theory as to how it occurred have become so confused in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-gaylord-simpson/the-fact-not-theory-that-evolution-has-occurred-and-the-darwinian/) [George Gaylord Simpson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-gaylord-simpson/) > [Perhaps no order of mammals presents us with so extraordinary a series of gradations as this \[step by step, from humans to apes to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-huxley/perhaps-no-order-of-mammals-presents-us-with-so-extraordinary-a/) [Thomas Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-huxley/) > [Evolution happens in jumps, very rapidly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilyn-ferguson/evolution-happens-in-jumps-very-rapidly/) [Marilyn Ferguson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilyn-ferguson/) > [The true nature of soul is right knowledge, right faith and right conduct. The soul, so long as it is subject to transmigration, is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virchand-gandhi/the-true-nature-of-soul-is-right-knowledge-right-faith-and-right/) [Virchand Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virchand-gandhi/) > [“Toshiaki learned that all living organisms were governed by their DNA. He was impressed by perfection of this system.Why did existence have the ability…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hideaki-sena/toshiaki-learned-that-all-living-organisms-were-governed-by-their-dna/) [Hideaki Sena](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hideaki-sena/) > [The shelves of many evangelicals are full of books that point out the flaws in evolution, discuss it only as a theory, and almost…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-collins/the-shelves-of-many-evangelicals-are-full-of-books-that-point-out-the/) [Francis Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-collins/) > [I'm all about evolution. I'm the first person to judge myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-weeknd/i-m-all-about-evolution-i-m-the-first-person-to-judge-myself/) [The Weeknd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/the-weeknd/) > [The next evolution of content marketing is not more content; it's better distribution.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-penn/the-next-evolution-of-content-marketing-is-not-more-content-it-s/) [Chris Penn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-penn/) [Browse all 6,185 Evolution quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evolution/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“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 them as either ‘primitive’ or ‘unsuccessful’? Men have so far survived half a per cent as long. 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