Rare 3.35" Odontocephalus

This is a special offering for many reasons. It is a 3.35 inch long Odontocephalus aegeria trilobite, the state fossil of Pennsylvania. The locality where these unique trilobites come from was collected out in the 80's. A friend of mine recently visited the quarry to see if it could be reopened and determined that because the rock was sloped at a 60 degree angle they couldn't even get into more rock with the use of heavy earth moving equipment.

The specimens that were collected back in the 80's were crudely prepared using acid etching. This destroyed the shell which was then "recreated" using shoe polish. So nearly all of the specimens in existence don't have actually shell.

This specimen come from a small lot that was discovered unprepared wrapped in newspaper in the basement of a collector several years ago. These specimens were then prepared using the latest preparation techniques. So this is one of only a handful of Odontocephalus from Pennsylvania that have actual shell preserved. It is also the last one I know of from this limited quantity available for sale.