Enrolled Drotops Trilobite - Over 5" Around

Enrolled Drotops Trilobite - Over Around #190413

This is an enrolled specimen of the giant phacopid trilobite Drotops megalomanicus. It's 3" wide and would be over 5" long if outstretched. It has been completely removed from the surrounding limestone and all of the surface detail including the bumps covering it's head and tail and many eye facets can easily be seen. There is some weathering along the axis (back half of trilobite), but no restoration.

One of the most striking features of this trilobites is the large schizochroal (multi-faceted) eyes which would have given it a nearly 360 degree field of vision. It also has a very bumpy exoskeleton, in particularly on it's head.

About Trilobites

Trilobites are an extinct class of marine arthropods that thrived for nearly 270 million years, from the early Cambrian to the end of the Permian period (around 521 to 252 million years ago). They are one of the most successful and diverse groups in the history of life, with over 25,000 described species spanning a wide range of sizes, shapes, and ecological niches. Known for their distinctive, segmented exoskeletons, trilobites provide invaluable insights into the evolutionary history of arthropods and the dynamics of ancient marine ecosystems.

More About Trilobites