Large Trilobite

Harllardops Mesocristata

This is an exquisitly prepared example of the Middle Devonian trilobite Hollardops mesocristata.

The surface detail is great with a nice thick black shell covered in small pustules, and the eye facets are well preserved.

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 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.

  • 6,5 × 4,5 cm (FossiL)

    c. 400 Million years old

    lower Devon Period

  • Dos & Bertie Winkel collection

  • Jebel Issoumour, Morocco

  • € 225,—