Bargain, Spiny, Enrolled Drotops Armatus Trilobite - 5" long

This is a super spiny, Drotops armatus trilobite, preserved in an enrolled position. This large phacopid trilobite would be close to 5" long if outstretched and has dozens of free-standing spines and preserved eye facets. The limestone around it has been sculpted to leave it aesthetically presented on a pillar of rock.

This specimen has a significant amount of restoration, hence the bargain price. We touched up a number of air scribe scratches and dings on the trilobite, mostly on the back half of it. There is some shell restoration on the front of the head. Many of the spines are are either composite or have been restored. Had there been less restoration, it would have been a $1k+ specimen.

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.
SOLD
DETAILS
SPECIES
Drotops armatus
LOCATION
Mrakib, Morocco
FORMATION
Bou Dib Formation
SIZE
2.2" wide, about 5" long
SUB CATEGORY
ITEM
#105436
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