Kunstformen der Natur. Plate 47. Limulus - Aspidonia - Schildtiere [Trilobites and horseshoe crabs]

Leipzig and Wien, Verlag des Bibliographischen Instituts, 1901. Folio-sized sheet, printed on one side (36.3 x 27.3 cm). Halftone print with printed overlay. = A very fine plate, showing the amazing variability of the extinct trilobites, and of their modern look alikes, the horseshoe crabs. All are finely drawn by the author. Ernst Haeckel, a gifted artist, keen observer, and great zoologist, was the first to explore the riches of nature in forms, shapes, textures, and ornaments. This highly influenced the Art Nouveau and Jugendstil movements in the fine and applied arts. The trilobites once were the leading group of arthropods in all oceans and seas. The mass extinction at the end of the Permian (the most severe in the history of life) period also marked the end of the trilobites. Horseshoe crabs, with a history spanning 450 My, are the sole surviviors of a group of marine arthropods related to spiders. This plate gives some fine examples. A very good, clean copy, with the printing delicate, yet strong.