1.4" Fossil Trilobite (Declivolithus) - Morocco

Fossil Trilobite (Declivolithus) - Morocco #120750

This is a very inflated and colorful specimen of the Trinucleid trilobite Declivolithus from Morocco. It has a natural, orange preservation due to the oxidiation of iron pyrite which had replaced the fossil. It is 1.65" wide and 1.4" long. There is a little bit of restoration along repaired cracks.

This trilobite has really dramatic cephalic pits along it's "head shield". It's unknown the exact purpose of these pits, they could have had sensory purposes or aided in filter feeding.

This species has been typically referred in the past as Nankinolithus, but it was recently described as Declivolithus titan in the following paper.

An Upper Ordovician (Katian) Trilobite Fauna From the Lower Ktaoua Formation, Morocco

Trilobites were a very diverse group of extinct marine arthropods. They first appeared in the fossil record in the Early Cambrian (521 million years ago) and went extinct during the Permian mass extinction (250 million years ago). They were one of the most successful of the early animals on our planet: over 25,000 species have been described, filling nearly every evolutionary niche. Due in large part to their hard exoskeletons (shells), they left an excellent fossil record.

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