The Asaphina has been thrown up in the air and the pieces not really landed anywhere, the Agnostida lost in some vague place in the mandibulate stem completely unconstrained by synapomorphy, and Adrain seems unable to publish his big ideas beyond footnotes and abstracts (in the last 14 years..)

Richard Fortey’s passing made me reflect on the state of trilobite phylogeny. It seems we have made little real progress on the ‘big issues’ since Richard’s 90s work on Asaphina, Libristoma and Proetida…

@mchshe.bsky.social Reading the Guardian this morning. You seem to be a good man. Your comment on powerlessness really resonated… I need to do more, and am fortunate enough to be able to make some small difference. Well done!

Sad to hear the news of Richard Fortey’s passing. I studied for my PhD with Richard between 1997 and 2001. I loved working with him. He was endlessly curious, a constant source of new ideas and hypotheses. A true polymath. More importantly he was kind, witty and charming.