Immense Medium-Eyestalked Russian Ordovician Trilobite
Asaphus cornutus

Description: A well-inflated example of a medium-eyestalked member of the Asaphidae, this is Asaphus cornutus. The region in which these trilobites lived was subject to dramatic changes in salinity and turbidity, and the trilobites were able to make rapid (geologically speaking) evolutionary adjustments. These adjustments were thought to be able to allow them to see both predator and prey more easily. This taxon derives its species name cornutus from the Latin for horned, referring to the eyestalks. This one is a very large example that displays well on this limestone matrix, a most impressive specimen, indeed.