UNUSUAL Gondwanaspis Dramatically-Spined Moroccan Trilobite

Gondwanaspis (Taemasaspis) sp

Trilobites Order Lichida (Some list as Odontopleurida), Family Odontopleuridae

Geological Time: Devonian

Size: Trilobite is 35 mm long by 35 mm wide (counting spines) on a 65 mm by 65 mm matrix

Fossil Site: Mount Issoumour, Alnif , Morocco

Fossil Code: MT381

Price: $1795.00


Gondwanaspis TrilobiteDescription: Elegant example of an unusual trilobite which has recently become available, and currently goes under the name Gondwanaspis, but has also been renamed Taeasaspis. Whatever name you choose to call it, it is a most unusual odontopleurid. Here again nomenclature is in flux with members of the family Odonotopleuridae being assigned to a new order Odontopleurida. I will stay with the more conservative assignment to Lichida until the scientific community makes up its mind. Whatever the name and order, this taxon has the distinguishing feature of being the last odontopleurids to go extinct during the Frasnian/Famenian Great Extinction Event, leaving the Proetida and Phacopida as the sole surviving orders going forward. The genus was somewhat cosmopolitan in its distribution, having been found in France, Germany, Morocco, Siberia, and Australia. This is the first example of this type of trilobite I have been able to secure. Note that the cephalon has been prepared freestanding to show off the many spines, making for a most dramatic display. No collection of trilobites can be considered complete without an example of this unusual taxon.

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