Diademaproetus & Enrolled Austerops Trilobites - Foum Zguid, Morocco

This is a .85" long specimen of Diademaproetus praecursor from the Timrhanrhart Formation near Foum Zguid, Morocco. This large, proetid trilobite has distinctive swept back genal spines and the chocolate brown shell preservation contrasts nicely with the tan rock.

There is a fully enrolled Austerops closely associated with it on the rock.

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.

More About Trilobites