North Africa, Morocco, Anti-Atlas Mountain Range, Cambrian, ca. 516 to 505 million years ago. An amazing example of a newly discovered and undescribed species of large redlichiid. The Redlichiidae are a group of extinct marine arthropods, some of the earliest trilobites to appear in the fossil record. They are flat, with an exoskeleton, and would have lived in the vast seas that covered most of the Cambrian world. Size: 6.3" L x 8" W x 6" H (16 cm x 20.3 cm x 15.2 cm)

In the past several years, many new fascinating invertebrate fossils have been discovered in the rich deposits of southern Morocco, North Africa. Most of those discoveries hail from Ordovician deposits but this ULTRA-RARE trilobite is a new discovery. Resembling a reduced size Paradoxides sp. yet with a thicker carapace and longer, thinner sweeping genal spines, all we can say is this is a yet, unnamed species of the Redlichiida order of trilobites. The glabella is more bulbous than a Paradoxides but perhaps, the thicker carapace was able to preserve the once-living trilobite's 3D appearance, protecting it from compression in the layers as it became fossilied. Often in the realm of fossil discoveries, you can find several of a creature all at once and then NEVER find another example again - the initial multiple discovery being misleading one into thinking more will be found later. For advanced collectors wishing to add a new and very rare specimen to their collection, this could be a prime acquisition!

Other than cracks filled from repairs, there is ZERO FABRICATION with all anatomy being 100% genuine. An absolute RARE gem specimen, most highly recommended for the finest collections. Next to the Paradoxides and Cambropallas sp. trilobites of the North African Cambrian, this unnamed type seems to rank with those other giants as one of the 'much larger than typical' species known in the formation.



Provenance: Purchased from a French collection in 2013

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#120935

Typical minor repair but no fabrication