.48" Pyritized Triarthrus Trilobite With Appendages Including Gills

Pyritized Triarthrus Trilobite With Appendages Including Gills #309857

The localities that preserve trilobites with soft-bodied preservation can probably be counted on one hand. One of these localities is where this specimen is from, the historic Beecher's trilobite beds in the Lorraine Group of New York. Less than a decade ago a new locality was discovered a short distance away that has produced amazing, soft-bodied preservation of trilobites and other organisms. Because of the rapid burial of the trilobites, in an anoxic environment, the soft body parts were replaced by pyrite, preserving details not typically seen.

This is a very detailed, laterally preserved specimen with legs, antennae and lots of gill filaments present. It measures approximately .48" and is located on a 3.7 x 2.6" slab of shale.

Included with your specimen is a printed copy of the cropped in photo seen above.

About Trilobites

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