Trilobite in Matrix, Selenopeltis buchii

Fossil. Upper Ordovician, ca. 450 million years ago. [Anti-Atlas region, Morocco]. A dramatic example of Selenopeltis buchii, one of the most spectacular spiny trilobites of the Ordovician seas. It is preserved in natural relief on a slab of its original [sandstone/siltstone] matrix. The specimen shows the species’ distinctive anatomy: a broad, crescent-shaped head with sweeping genal spines, and a segmented thorax from which long, elegant pleural spines radiate outward like oars. The animal looks poised mid-glide across the ancient sea floor. [Its warm brown exoskeleton stands out handsomely against the paler surrounding rock.] Selenopeltis belongs to the odontopleurids, a family renowned for elaborate spines. These probably helped the animal rest on soft sediment without sinking and deterred predators. It lived in the cool, shallow seas that covered what is now North Africa and Europe some 450 million years ago, long before the first dinosaurs, flowering plants or even trees. Complete specimens with their delicate spines intact are prized by collectors as among the most striking of all trilobites. Item # 205685

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