Cluster Of Three Anacheirurus (Lehua) Trilobites - Fezouata Formation

This is a cluster of three Anacheirurus trilobite from the Fezouata Formation of Morocco. This is a fairly uncommon trilobite, so finding three together is quite unusual. The red coloration is due to the oxidization of iron pyrite that originally preserved the fossils. The trilobites average about 1 1/2" in length.

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.

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