2.5" Flying Metacanthina Trilobite - Large, Exceptional Specimen

This is a stunning, 2.5" long specimen of the trilobite, Metacanthina issoumourensis often referred to as an "Asteropyge" or “Kayserops”. It was quarried from the Lower Devonian deposits near Lghaft, Morocco. Nearly all of the limestone has been meticulously removed from around it using airscribes and air abrasives under microscope leaving it flying above the rock on a pedestal of limestone. This impressive preparation would have required dozens of hours of work by a very skilled prepper.

At 2.5" long this specimen is huge for the species and it's laid out almost perfectly prone with exquisite shell detail including tiny eye facets. One of the finest, if not the finest example of this species that I've seen.

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.
SOLD
DETAILS
SPECIES
Metacanthina issoumourensis
LOCATION
Lghaft, Morocco
FORMATION
Lhandar Formation
SIZE
2.5" long
SUB CATEGORY
ITEM
#86853
GUARANTEE
We guarantee the authenticity of all of our
specimens. Read more about our
Authenticity Guarantee.