5" Drotops Trilobite With White Patina - Great Eyes!

This is a beautifully preserved, 5" long (if outstretched) Drotops trilobite quarried from Mrakib, Morocco. It's very 3D with outstanding eye facet preservation. The shell is not the typical solid black found on the Drotops from Issoumour but rather has a beautiful, white patina to it. Far fewer are found because the quarry has much more limestone overburden that must be removed.

It has been prepared so that it flies above the limestone base on a pedestal of rock. The hypostome (mouthplate) has been exposed underneath. About 1-2% shell restoration along the repaired crack. It really doesn't get much better than this.

A photo of the Drotops quarry at Issoumour, Morocco showing the hard limestone layers being worked.
A photo of the Drotops quarry at Issoumour, Morocco showing the hard limestone layers being worked.


A photo of the Drotops quarry at Issoumour, Morocco.  The quarry following the horizon where this trilobites are found extends several kilometers around the mountain.
A photo of the Drotops quarry at Issoumour, Morocco. The quarry following the horizon where this trilobites are found extends several kilometers around the mountain.


How a Drotops might be found in the field, with part of the tail exposed in the broken rock.  It would then be prepared using airscribes and air abrasives a process that would likely take 20+ hours for a good specimen..
How a Drotops might be found in the field, with part of the tail exposed in the broken rock. It would then be prepared using airscribes and air abrasives a process that would likely take 20+ hours for a good specimen..


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DETAILS
SPECIES
Drotops megalomanicus
LOCATION
Mrakib, Morocco
FORMATION
Bou Dib Formation
SIZE
5" long (if outstretched)
SUB CATEGORY
ITEM
#76405
GUARANTEE
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