In Memory of the Jurassic Horseshoe Crab Mesolimulus, Solnhofen Formation, Germany

Horus Balogh-Zanin

Your train circles inwards towards the end of its tracks,
your existence compressed to a spiral in the sediment.
The center marks the end of one life
and the start of another.

The Science

The poem refers to a specific fossil from the Solnhofen Limestone, which depicts the mortichnia ("death march") of a horseshoe crab. This particular individual was caught in an anoxic lagoon and attempted to escape, but the confusion induced by lack of oxygen caused it to walk in an increasingly erratic spiral until it died at the centre. Ironically, the anoxia which killed it also ensured its preservation over the 150-145 million years separating it and us.

The Poet

Horus Balogh-Zanin (he/him) is a first-time poet and full-time invertebrate palaeontology student. He is currently researching trilobites for his master's degree. In his free time, he takes photos of (living) insects.

Next poem: Light Years Away by Christianne Clarke