Is this the most successful animal ever? - Nigel Hughes episode artwork

EPISODE · Jun 9, 2026 · 8 MIN

Is this the most successful animal ever? - Nigel Hughes

from TED-Ed · host TED-Ed

Discover the creatures known as trilobites, one of Earth’s most successful early animals, and find out what led to their extinction.--Prevailing for around 270 million years and encompassing more than 20,000 distinct species, trilobites are some of the most successful lifeforms in Earth’s history. When they sprung into existence, they were among the most diverse and sophisticated organisms on the planet and so had a unique perspective on the ancient world. Nigel Hughes details the rise and fall of these hardy creatures.Lesson by Nigel Hughes, directed by Zsuzsanna Kreif, The Animation Workshop.Support Our Non-Profit Mission----------------------------------------------Support us on Patreon: http://bit.ly/TEDEdPatreonCheck out our merch: http://bit.ly/TEDEDShop----------------------------------------------Connect With Us----------------------------------------------Sign up for our newsletter: http://bit.ly/TEDEdNewsletterFollow us on Facebook: http://bit.ly/TEDEdFacebookFind us on Twitter: http://bit.ly/TEDEdTwitterPeep us on Instagram: http://bit.ly/TEDEdInstagram----------------------------------------------Keep Learning----------------------------------------------View full lesson: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/is-this-the-most-successful-animal-ever-nigel-hughesDig deeper with additional resources: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/is-this-the-most-successful-animal-ever-nigel-hughes#digdeeperAnimator's website: https://www.behance.net/krzsanna & https://animationworkshop.via.dk----------------------------------------------Thank you so much to our patrons for your support! Without you this video would not be possible! Javier Aldavaz, Ivan Yeung, Jaime Camacho, Brian Elieson, Grayson Garbarino, Oge O, Weronika Falkowska, Stefano Esposito, Nevin Spoljaric, Yvonne Feijoo, Sid Chanpuriya, Arjay Arcinue Dineros, Anoom Yasmin, Anoop Varghese, David Yastremski, Noah Webb, B, Jason Harrison, Erica Guerrero, Roberto Chena, Oliver Koo, Luke Pisano, Andrea Gordon, Aleksandar Donev, Nicole Klau Ibarra, Milo Vermeulen, Ryan Weiler, Jesse Lira, Ezekiel Raui, Zongpu Kou, Cameron Chakraverty, Petr Vacek, Rhys Patterson, Dennis, Olivia Fu, Katrina Adams, Regina Post, Mary Collins, Kari Teffeau, clumsybunnie, Adam Leos, Jeremy Laurin, Cindy Lai, Liz, Bhargav Pandravada, Rajath Durgada Manjunath, Dan Nguyen, Chin Beng Tan, Alejandro Gomez and Tom Boman. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Discover the creatures known as trilobites, one of Earth’s most successful early animals, and find out what led to their extinction.--Prevailing for around 270 million years and encompassing more than 20,000 distinct species, trilobites are some of the most successful lifeforms in Earth’s history. When they sprung into existence, they were among the most diverse and sophisticated organisms on the planet and so had a unique perspective on the ancient world. Nigel Hughes details the rise and fall of these hardy creatures.Lesson by Nigel Hughes, directed by Zsuzsanna Kreif, The Animation Workshop.Support Our Non-Profit Mission----------------------------------------------Support us on Patreon: http://bit.ly/TEDEdPatreonCheck out our merch: http://bit.ly/TEDEDShop----------------------------------------------Connect With Us----------------------------------------------Sign up for our newsletter: http://bit.ly/TEDEdNewsletterFollow us on Facebook: http://bit.ly/TEDEdFacebookFind us on Twitter: http://bit.ly/TEDEdTwitterPeep us on Instagram: http://bit.ly/TEDEdInstagram----------------------------------------------Keep Learning----------------------------------------------View full lesson: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/is-this-the-most-successful-animal-ever-nigel-hughesDig deeper with additional resources: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/is-this-the-most-successful-animal-ever-nigel-hughes#digdeeperAnimator's website: https://www.behance.net/krzsanna & https://animationworkshop.via.dk----------------------------------------------Thank you so much to our patrons for your support! Without you this video would not be possible! Javier Aldavaz, Ivan Yeung, Jaime Camacho, Brian Elieson, Grayson Garbarino, Oge O, Weronika Falkowska, Stefano Esposito, Nevin Spoljaric, Yvonne Feijoo, Sid Chanpuriya, Arjay Arcinue Dineros, Anoom Yasmin, Anoop Varghese, David Yastremski, Noah Webb, B, Jason Harrison, Erica Guerrero, Roberto Chena, Oliver Koo, Luke Pisano, Andrea Gordon, Aleksandar Donev, Nicole Klau Ibarra, Milo Vermeulen, Ryan Weiler, Jesse Lira, Ezekiel Raui, Zongpu Kou, Cameron Chakraverty, Petr Vacek, Rhys Patterson, Dennis, Olivia Fu, Katrina Adams, Regina Post, Mary Collins, Kari Teffeau, clumsybunnie, Adam Leos, Jeremy Laurin, Cindy Lai, Liz, Bhargav Pandravada, Rajath Durgada Manjunath, Dan Nguyen, Chin Beng Tan, Alejandro Gomez and Tom Boman. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Is this the most successful animal ever? - Nigel Hughes

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Discover the creatures known as trilobites, one of Earth’s most successful early animals, and find out what led to their extinction.--Prevailing for around 270 million years and encompassing more than 20,000 distinct species, trilobites are some of...

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