Crotalocephalina Trilobite With Spiny Leonaspis - Atchana, Morocco

This is a pair of Lower Devonian trilobites from the Lhandar Formation of Morocco. There is a 2" long (if outstretched) Crotalocephalina next to a 1.1" long, spiny Leonaspis. The limestone around these fossils has been nicely shaped so that they both display well whether on a flat surface or display stand.

Note: The grey patch in the middle of the rock is just a shadow.

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.

More About Trilobites