Name: Drotops armatus forma hoplites
Age: Middle Devonian
Size: (25.4mm=1 inch): Trilobite: 95 mm long , 60 mm across. Matrix: 120 mm by 105 mm.
Location: Ma'der, Erfoud, Morocco
Code: 04031
Price: $1995.00 - sold
 Description:
This plate displays a rarely seen example of a trilobite related to
the more common "Phacops" Drotops megalomanicus found in
the Devonian deposits of region Ma'der near Erfoud, Morocco. This
one is different in large measure due to the fact that there is a
profusion of spines projecting from all surfaces, even the eyes! There
are four varieties known, distinguished by the type and placement
of the spines. This one is forma hoplites with spines of over 10 mm
in length (see the archives for another form - forma perspinosa).
Armatus means armed; to what purpose could all these spines be put?
Fish had just recently evolved true jaws, and the armament here was
a response to predation pressures. There are fully ONE HUNDRED spines
preserved here, making this a wonderful example of an evolutionary
salvo in the predator/prey arms race. |
