Rare 2.9" Platyscutellum Massai Trilobite - Morocco

Rare Platyscutellum Massai Trilobite - Morocco #251454

This is a vary large 2.9" long example of the rare scutellid (Platyscutellum massai) trilobite from Aatchana, Morocco. Nearly all of the rock has been removed from around it during preparation so that it appears to fly above the limestone. It has a beautiful, multi-toned shell coloration and is a really spectacular example with no restoration.

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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