3.2" Stalk-Eyed Asaphus Kowalewskii Trilobite

This is a very large, 3.2" long, stalk-eyed trilobite (Asaphus kowalewskii) that looks like it is ready to crawl off of the limestone. It is Middle Ordovician in age and was collected at the Vilpovitsy quarry in the St. Petersburg region of Russia. The stalk eyes likely allowed it to survey its surroundings while remaining buried in the mud.

The base of the rock has been cut flat so that is the piece stands up nicely on a hard surface without the need for a display stand. Like nearly all of these asaphids there is some shell restoration as the shell tends to flake during collection. It looks like it is about 10% in total, but the largest amount being on the center of the tail.

Photo of the Vilpovitsy quarry near St. Petersburg, Russia, where this trilobite was found.
Photo of the Vilpovitsy quarry near St. Petersburg, Russia, where this trilobite was found.

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
Asaphus kowalewskii
LOCATION
Vilpovitsy quarry, St. Petersburg region, Russia
FORMATION
Asery level
SIZE
3.2" long
SUB CATEGORY
ITEM
#228876
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