Trilobite, William Smith fossil © The Trustees of the Natural History Museum, London
We use the Museum's fossil invertebrate, micropalaeontology and palaeobotany collections to unravel the origins and evolution of these groups.
News from the group
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NewsFossils provide new evidence of oldest animal life
A genetic analysis of ancient sea sponges has provided the oldest evidence of animal life.
23 February 2016 -
Science newsSome trilobites crushed their prey to death with their legs
By studying modern horseshoe crabs, researchers have been able to build up a picture of how some extinct arthropods such as trilobites may have fed on hard-shelled prey.
5 March 2021 -
Science newsThe way dinosaurs evolved mirrors life on Earth today
Herbivorous dinosaurs kept evolving the same traits.
6 December 2019 -
Science newsThe Cambrian explosion was far shorter than thought
The Cambrian explosion is one of the most important intervals in the history of life.
19 February 2019
Palaeobotany research
Our research focuses on the origins of land-dwelling plants during the Palaeozoic Era, and the co-evolution of plants and animals during the Mesozoic Era.
Co-evolution of plants and soils: a comparative approach
Comparing 400-million-year-old fossil soils and modern analogues to learn more about the early evolution of life on land.
Reading the rocks
Exploring the origins and early diversification of plant and arthropod life on land.
Mesozoic forests of Britain
Investigating the productivity of important Late Jurassic and Early Cretaceous forests of southern England.
Unlocking the vault: UK plant collections
Extracting flowering time data from our collection of 610,000 British and Irish plant specimens to study the phenology of selected orchid species.
Dinosaur and plant co-evolution
Investigating the extent to which the evolution of dinosaur diversity and physiology was dependent on plants.
Symbionts
Using fossils to investigate the origin and evolution of relationships between plants and microorganisms during the early development of life on land.
Micropalaeontology research
The Museum's huge microfossil collection is helping us to reconstruct past environments and locate hydrocarbon reserves buried deep underground.
Conodont research
Our conodont research focuses on several important Ordovician and Silurian faunas from the Middle East.
Ostracod research
Current ostracod research projects at the Museum focus on Silurian ostracods from the Canadian Arctic and Iran.
Arthropod research
We are studying arthropod phylogeny, the palaeobiology, systematics, evolution and biogeography of trilobites, ostracod taxonomy and palaeobiology, and centipede systematics.
Trilobite research
We study trilobites from four periods of the Palaeozoic: the Cambrian, Ordovician, Silurian and Devonian.
Centipede systematics
Our research on centipedes (Chilopoda) includes studies on deep phylogeny and phylogeography, the taxonomy of most major groups, comparative morphology, and palaeontology, including amber fossils from the Mesozoic and Cenozoic.
Marine invertebrate research
Our vast collections are supporting a range of research projects on bryozoans, molluscs, echinoderms and corals in the fossil record.
Echinoderm research
Focusing on the diversification and evolution of various groups during the Palaeozoic and Mesozoic, particularly starfish, brittle stars, crinoids and the extinct edrioasteroids.
Conulariid research
Researching the various aspects of conulariid taxonomy and palaeobiology, including the microstructure of the shell and developmental loss of symmetry.
Bryozoan skeletal mineralogy and ocean acidification
Investigating the timing of a switch towards aragonite skeletons in certain Late Cretaceous bryozoans, and the relationship of this switch to changing seawater chemistry.
Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum
Investigating the response of organisms to the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM), the most rapid and significant climatic warming pulse of the past 65 million years.
Evolution and taxonomy of Mesozoic bryozoans
Bryozoans, especially cheilostomes, diversified significantly during the mid-late Mesozoic.
Research on reef corals and coral reefs
Studying fossil corals to understand the biological consequences of past environmental changes.
MART analysis
Cheilostome bryozoans offer a powerful method for estimating temperature seasonality in the past.
Palaeontology collections
Discover our vertebrate, invertebrate and plant fossil collections.
Palaeobotany collection
A collection with excellent geographic, stratigraphic and historical coverage.
The Data Portal
Explore and download the Museum’s research and collections data.
Opportunities
Undertake professional and postgraduate training in invertebrate and plant palaeobiology.
Core research labs
Our research lab teams are available for complex on-site imaging and analysis of biological and geological samples.