Nice, 1.8" Spiny Kolihapeltis Trilobite - Rare Species

Nice, Spiny Kolihapeltis Trilobite - Rare Species #108183

This is a beautiful, example of a rare, spiny trilobite from Morocco, Kolihapeltis chlupaci hollardi. It's slightly arched but would be about 1.8" long if outstretched. Exquisite preparation on this fine specimen. Half of one spine is a composite but otherwise there isn't any significant restoration on this specimen.

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.