Rare Eifel Cyphaspis Trilobite - Germany

This is a very special offering of a rare Cyphaspis ceratophthalma from the Eifel region of Germany. Don't confuse these with the common Cyphaspis trilobites of the same age from Morocco. The collecting locality has been off limits since 1984, so material is extremely hard to come by.

The site "Pelm-Salmer Weg" near the small village of Gees was collected over a 200 year period and served as the type stratum and locality for many classic Devonian trilobite species. The earliest trilobite described from the site dates back to 1825.

Due to the fact preparation methods at that time were much more crude than they are today, almost all existing Eifel material is poorly prepared. This specimen was recovered is one of a small amount of material recovered unprepared from an old collection after the collector passed away. It was just now prepared using modern day air abrasive techniques.