2.7" Trident" Walliserops Trilobite - 40+ Free Standing Spines

This is a 2.7" long specimen of the long-trident, Walliserops trifurcatus quarried near Foum Zguid, Morocco. It has excellent preparation with over 40 free-standing spines and detailed eye facets. Both the fork and the tail spines have been prepared free of the surrounding limestone leaving the fossil in an aesthetic pose. There is about 5% shell restoration, the majority being in a strip along the right side of the thorax where the repaired crack ran through the trilobite.

Walliserops is one of the weirdest, and most visually stunning species of trilobite, Walliserops trifurcatus. There is some debate about the purpose of the trident shaped appendage or rostrum coming off the front of it's head but it's likely it could have either had sensory purposes or have been used to stir up the mud while looking for food.