Leptaglaspis schmidti Ordovician Aglaspid Fossil

Description: 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. This taxon represents one of the youngest members of the clade. While most are known from dorsal preservation only, this one is more lateral in aspect, and is a very fine example of these enigmatic creatures, made all the more desirable by the fact that both the part and counterpart are here available.