Newly-Described Moroccan Trilobite Kettneraspis prescheri

Description: Elegant example of an unusual trilobite which has recently become available. I saw my first example 10 years ago at the Tucson show and called it a “stovepipe” due to the robust occipital spine only found in this species. While some prefer Kettnersapis over Leonaspis based upon the pygidial spines, it is definitely a new species, one that has curried great favor among the collectors of the world. It has long been held that the distinction of two intermediate spines on the pygidium for Kettneraspis instead of four for Leonaspis was a sufficient discriminating feature. While this one has that feature, it also bears several features of Leonaspis: posterior eye placement, a narrow fixigenal field, and numerous epiborder tubercules. While the authors placed it within Kettneraspis, they attached a question mark to designate its combined features.

Reference: Geologica Belgica, 2015, 18/1, pp 15-20