3.8" Trident Walliserops (New Type?) Trilobite - Very Large Specimen

This is a very large, 3.8" long Walliserops trilobite from the Timrhanrhart Formation near Foum Zguid, Morocco. This specimen has a shorter fork and much longer spines than the typical Walliserops trifurcatus. It may represent a new subspecies or might simply just been an abnormal individual. The preparation is excellent and it has less than 1% shell restoration along repaired cracks.

Walliserops is one of the weirdest, and most visually stunning, species of trilobite. There is some debate about the purpose of the trident shaped appendage or rostrum coming off the front of its 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.