Leptaglaspis schmidti

Phylum Arthropoda, Order Aglaspidida

Geological Time: Lower Ordovician

Size (25.4mm=1 inch): Fossil is 87 mm (curve measure) by 10 mm on a 100 mm by 40 mm matrix

Fossil Site: Fezouata Formation, Zagora, Morocco

Fossil Code: 12034

Price: $595.00 - sold

This is a fine example of an Ordovician aglaspid known as Leptaglaspis schmidti. It is well articulated , and is seen here on a flattened matrix base for self-display. 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. With a smooth carapace and trunk, Leptaglaspis was suitable for a burrowing existence. With specimens having been found in sandy, silty, and fine muddy sediments, it was pretty cosmopolitan. While most are found in pieces, this fine example is preserved in articulation, albeit somewhat compressed.