Two Red Lehua Trilobites - Fezouata Formation

This is a pair of red colored Lehua trilobites from the Upper Fezouata Formation in Morocco. Both of the specimens are around 1.25" in length and the red/rust coloration is natural, due to the oxidization of iron pyrite.

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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