1.6" Fossil Trilobite (Declivolithus) With Pos/Neg - Morocco

This is a very inflated and colorful specimen of the Trinucleid trilobite Declivolithus from Ouled Slimane, Morocco. It has a natural orange preservation due to the oxidiation of iron pyrite which had replaced the fossil. It is 1.6" wide and 1.5" long. Both the positive and negative impression of the trilobite are included. There is one repaired crack through both sides of the rock.

This trilobite has really dramatic cephalic pits along its "head shield". The exact purpose of these pits is unknown, but they could have had sensory purposes or aided in filter feeding.

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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DETAILS
SPECIES
Declivolithus (Nankinolithus) titan
LOCATION
Ouled Slimane, Zagora area, Morocco
FORMATION
Lower Ktaoua Formation
SIZE
1.6" wide, 1.5" long
SUB CATEGORY
ITEM
#128781
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