Three Ordovician Asaphellus Trilobites - Morocco

This is a really cool cluster of three Asaphellus trilobites from the Fezouata Shale in Morocco. They have a natural, reddish coloration due to the oxidization of iron pyrite. The largest of the three trilobites is just over an inch long and they are nicely centered on a 5.1x4.4" slab of shale. It comes with an acrylic display stand.

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