Giant 4.35" Crotalocephalina Trilobite - Largest I've Seen

This is one of those trilobite specimens that makes you say, "wow they really do look like little aliens". It's a fantastically prepared Crotalocephalina gibbus from near Lghaft, Morocco. What makes this particular specimen so special is it was prepared in a "flying" pose by removing most of the rock from underneath so that it is perched on a pedestal. Even much of the matrix was removed from underneath all of the pleural spines. This would have taken DOZENS of hours of preparation work by a very skilled preparator under microscope.

The specimen is large for the species at 4.35" which is massive, and the largest complete example I've seen. Simply spectacular.