Ancient Seas, Northwestern Africa, Morocco, Anti-Atlas Mountains, Ordovician period, ca. 485 to 443 million years ago. With its rich red-orange hues and large natural limestone rock matrix, this is an incredibly aesthetic display fossil of two Asaphus trilobites. The stone matrix is thick and features a natural verso with unpolished faces surrounding the excavated areas of the trilobites. Both trilobites are fully inflated with excellent detail and stunning sienna hues, complimenting the surrounding red and warm yellow limestone in which they were found. This is a large display piece that is unique due to the colors and size. Perfect for any interior setting and of an uncommon and warm color compared to the darker trilobites that we usually see. This is a beautiful fossil that serves as both a display and educational piece of prehistoric history! Size of matrix: 17.75" L x 10" W (45.1 cm x 25.4 cm); trilobite: 6.25" L x 6" W (15.9 cm x 15.2 cm)

Trilobites are a fossil group of extinct marine creatures that form one of the earliest known groups of arthropods. The first appearance of trilobites in the fossil record defines the base of the Atdabanian stage of the Early Cambrian period (521 million years ago), and they flourished throughout the lower Paleozoic era before beginning a drawn-out decline and then mass extinction at the end of the Permian about 252 million years ago. They were among the most successful of all early animals, roaming the oceans for over 270 million years! By the time trilobites first appeared in the fossil record, they were already highly diversified and geographically dispersed. Because trilobites had wide diversity and an easily fossilized exoskeleton, they left an extensive fossil record, with some 17,000 known species spanning Paleozoic time. The study of these fossils has facilitated important contributions to biostratigraphy, paleontology, evolutionary biology, and plate tectonics.

Provenance: ex-private USA collection, acquired in 2005

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#166808

Professionally prepared. Repair and some minor restoration to some edges of the trilobites, lost during matrix excavation. Colorful specimens!