A "RAM-HORNED" TRILOBITE

A "RAM-HORNED" TRILOBITE

Dicranurus monstrosus trilobit

Middle Devonian

Atlas Mountains, Alnif, Er Rachida, Morocco

7 cm long. A very good specimen, presented in a custom vitrine. 

Dicranurus monstrosus is one of the most studies trilobites of the Lichida order and Odontopleuridae family. This beautiful specimen displays a large span between the genal spines, while the rows of pleural spines give this species, and in particular this specimen, a supernatural appearance. 

Trilobites are a class of marine arachnomorph arthropods that inhabited the seas during the Paleozoic Era, from the Cambrian through the Permien period. They existed in oceans for over 300 million years, with last of them disappearing during the mass extinction at the end of the Permien period, 250 million years ago —making them one of the most successful species to ever live. With its multitude of spines, in particular those arching over the eyes, trilobites have the appearance of alien creatures, making it hard to imagine it imagine that they once inhabited our planet in multitudes. 

LITERATURE

A Dicranurus monstrosus specimen can be found in the collection of the Colorado School of Mines Geological Museum, in Golden, Colorado.