3.1" Asaphus Latus Trilobite With Exposed Hypostome - Russia

Asaphus Latus Trilobite With Exposed Hypostome - Russia #165446

This is a 3.1" long Asaphus latus trilobite from the Middle Ordovician deposits in the St. Petersburg Region of Russia. There are some patches of shell restoration, but it looks like around 10% in total, mostly on the tail. The underside of the head has been prepared to expose the hypostome (mouthplate)

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 with over 25k currently described species, filling nearly every evolutionary niche. Due in large part to a hard exoskeleton (shell), they left an excellent fossil record.

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