Stunning Akantharges Moroccan Trilobites

Description: This unusual trilobite comes from a recently discovered location known as Jorf in Morocco, close to the site from which the polished goniatie ammonites originate. The preservation of the exoskeleton is reminiscent of them in terms of texture, unlike many trilobites from Morocco.. The rugose leading edge to cephalon and trailing edge of pygidium is most unusual, and seems to have been taken to extremes in this genus known as Akantharges. Specimens seem to span a broad spectrum of colors from an ivory to almost black, indicative of the unique mineral composition of the environment in which they have been preserved. The flattened round shape and spines along the edge of the pleural and pygidiial lobes indicate to me a dweller of the seafloor. The body configuration would have served the same function as snowshoes. This one is an opportunity to study both the dorsal and ventral anatomy of the skeleton, as the smaller example was flipped upside down prior to fossilization. Note that the ventral specimen preserves the hypostome in life position.

Reference: Batalleria, 18, March 2012, pp 15-24.