Lochovella & Cordania Trilobites - Black Cat Mountain, Oklahoma

This is an unusual association of a 1.35" long Lochovella (Reedops) deckeri and partially enrolled Cordania falcata trilobite. Both of these trilobites are uncommon at the quarries so finding the two species in close association is unusual. Excellent preparation work on this piece and the caramel colored shell contrasts nicely with the creme colored rock. There has been a lot of repair, gap filling on the rock, but no restoration on the trilobites.

The Black Cat Mountain Quarry produces a limited number of arguably the most beautiful trilobites in the United States each year. Each specimen is meticulously prepared by Bob Carroll under microscope to expose the smallest details. This is a very time consuming process taking many hours but yields spectacular results.

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.