Aglaspis sp.

Class Merostomata, Order Aglaspida

Geological Time: Late Cambrian, (~500 million years old)

Size: (25.4mm=1 inch): 27 mm long by 6 mm wide on a 75 mm by 65 mm matrix

Fossil Site: Stony Point, Montagu, North Western Tasmania, Australia

Fossil Code: AFF33

Price: $495.00

This arthropod is a member of the Aglaspida. The Aglaspids resemble the modern-day horseshoe crabs, and contain as the most famous member Beckwithia typa, a monster at over 200 mm in overall length which is thought to have been a predator of trilobites. Aglaspids are thought by some to have made the trackways termed Protichnites, and are known from only a handful of Late Cambrian deposits worldwide. This one has been assigned to the genus Aglaspis, but may indeed belong to an entirely new genus. They are not common, and the few examples I have represent months of searching in the field. The detail seen here with the body outline clearly visible and the long intact telson make this a highly desirable example.