Arthropoda indet
Geological Time: Late Ordovician
Size: mm (25.4 mm = 1 inch): Fossil is 11 mm long by 7 mm tall on an 80 mm by 58 mm matrix
Foosil Site: Whetstone Gulf Formation, Lorraine Group, Lewis County, New York
Fossil Code: PYT131
Price: Sold
 Description:
With only about a half dozen localities known, trilobites with
soft tissue preservation are rare. A well-known site in the United
States is Beecher’s Trilobite bed where examples of Triarthrus,
Cryptolithus, and Cornuproetus are known. In 2005 a new location
in Lewis County was discovered which will take its place in this
select group as a site containing Triarthrus eatoni with preserved
appendages. These trilobites were buried rapidly, resulting in
an anoxic environment which allowed for infilling with fine-grained
pyretic deposits that preserved the details seen here. This enigmatic
arthropod is found in the same deposits, and at present has no
parallel in the literature. Note the long preserved limbs, strongly
indicative of a pelagic rather than benthic habitat. The circular
structure in the anterior is believed to be the eye; its large
size indicates that vision was an important sense. This one was
almost sure to have been a predator. Note the presence of a faint
trace of an antenna as well. A similar specimen is being studied,
and hopefully a scientific description in the future will be published.
I have included a negative image that makes the features more apparent. |
