North Africa, Morocco, Lower Ordovician, ca. 485.4 to 477.7.8 million years ago. A rare and unusual fossilized species of trilobite known as Declivolithus titan. They somewhat resemble a horseshoe with a broad cephalon rim and genal spines that overhang the rest of the body. The cephalon rim is pitted - an unusual feature that scientists do not know the purpose of, but they may have been fenestrae (pore filters for feeding) or served a sensory function. Trilobites are one of the earliest known groups of arthropods, first appearing in the Atdabanian stage of the Early Cambrian period (521 million years ago). The exact timing of their extinction varied among different species, but as a group, trilobites disappeared during the Permian-Triassic extinction event, one of the largest mass extinctions in Earth's history. Before that, trilobites were among the most successful of all early animals, roaming the oceans for over 270 million years! Size of stone matrix: 7" L x 4" W x 0.75" H (17.8 cm x 10.2 cm x 1.9 cm); fossil: 1.3" L x 1" W (3.3 cm x 2.5 cm)

Provenance: private Van Buskirk collection, Tucson, Arizona USA

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#183919

Fossil surface is retouched with red pigment to highlight the fossil from the rest of the gray stone. Stone matrix is repaired with break line radiating across center and near the right tip of fossil's genal spine.