Rare Alien Looking Quadrops Trilobite - 2.8"

This is a spectacular specimen of one of my favorite species of trilobites, the very alien looking Quadrops flexuosa. This bizarre trilobite has a distinctive four-forked protrusion coming off of the front of it's head which is where the genus gets it's name. It is not only a rare trilobite but extremely hard and time consuming to prepare owing to the hardness of the rock and the it's many free standing spines.

I've had this specimen in my personal collection for nearly 15 years. It's 2.8" long which is about average size for the species and the preparation work is very nice. It has a very interesting natural coloration which both lighter and darker colored shell. The more than 40 spines along it's thorax have been prepared free-standing. It probably would have taken nearly 80 hours of highly skilled labor to prepare this trilobite. It has been coated in a clear sealant, which was very commonly done by several of the US trilobite preparators.