Jbel Wawrmast Formation, Anti-Atlas Mountain Range, Morocco, Cambrian, ca. 516 to 505 million years ago. The giant Paradoxides trilobite is the largest Cambrian trilobite that is found in sedimentary rock beds from this period. These kind of trilobite fossils often fracture when rock is split to locate them. This unavoidable damaging method often leaves missing pieces and highly fragmented specimens left to assemble and restore. This very large example is a fine quality specimen that far exceeds typical commercial quality examples. It retains a majority of the original trilobite with exceptional preservation and completeness. Close-up image of body shows the presence of highly rare genuine detail that very few examples can boast of having. Notice the distinct original carapace still present. Approximately only 20% restoration mainly limited to the genal spines and sides of the head as well as pleural fringe spines. A high quality and very impressive specimen for collectors looking for a fine grade GIANT example surpassing most commercial types most often encountered. Size: 16.5" L x 15" W (41.9 cm x 38.1 cm).

Trilobites are hard-shelled, segmented creatures that lived hundreds of millions of years ago in the Earth's ancient seas. They are considered to be one of our planet's earliest complex life-forms and are one of the key signature creatures of the Paleozoic Era. Trilobites went extinct before dinosaurs even existed. The name 'TRILOBITE' means 'three lobed" and is derived from the fact these animals had bodies featuring three longitudinal lobes, not lateral (head, body, tail) as is often thought. The lateral division of three parts is shared by many arthropods, not just trilobites. In a relatively short time-frame (scientifically speaking, of course), we have the emergence and subsequent extinction of these fascinating creatures. Still most baffling is the incredible diversity of sizes and features that made up the trilobite group. Many bizarre species co-existed with highly specialized body parts that defy the theories of evolution in their "sudden" emergence and diversity during the Early Cambrian Period in what is known as the 'Cambrian Explosion'. Trilobites were among the world's first arthropods, a phylum of hard-shelled creatures with multiple body segments and jointed legs (although the legs, antennae and other finer structures of trilobites only very rarely are preserved). They constitute an extinct class of arthropods, Trilobita, that is comprised of over 15,000 known species. It has been reported that every year, four to five new species are discovered in the Atlas and Anti-Atlas Mountain regions in Morocco, alone! This desolate northern fringe of the Sahara Desert was once covered by a prehistoric ocean and its fossil deposits can be considered amongst the world's richest and most diverse source of these ancient sea creatures. Trilobites are the single most diverse group of extinct organisms that ever existed, period! The smallest known trilobite is just three millimeters long, while the largest type grew to a length of 70 centimeters (over two feet long!). The most common fossil of trilobites is the mineralized dorsal exoskeleton of the creature. This is found in partial form from molting (shedding the shell as it grows) or in complete form when the animal was buried and died intact. The soft parts of the underside are rarely preserved. Trilobite fossils are collected by locating a fossil-bearing layer in rock and then breaking boulder or splitting rock sheet to reveal a cross-section of the preserved trilobite carapace in the break or to reveal an imprint in the sheet. Once the fossil is located, the pieces are then reassembled and delicate preparation then ensues to remove the surrounding rock above and around the trilobite to expose the fossil.

Provenance: purchased from a Florida importer 15 years ago

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