1.65" Illaenid Trilobite (Wossekia brevispina) Fossil - Rare Species

Illaenid Trilobite (Wossekia brevispina) Fossil - Rare Species #237027

This is a nice example of a rare species of Illaenid trilobite, Wossekia brevispina. It was collected from a Middle Ordovician quarry in the St. Petersburg region of Russia. This specimen is prepped partially free of the rock it was found in, measures 1.65 inches long, and has roughly 3% shell restoration, primarily on the head.

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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