Way Rare Russian trilobite Niobe schmidti

Here is a Asaphid trilobite that few collectors have heard of, much less seen. Coming from the Lower Ordovician Wolchovian Level deposits of the Wolchow River region near Saint Petersburg, Russia, this is an example of the trilobite known until a few decades ago as Niobe frontalis (now Niobe schmidti). It is betrayed as such by the fine terrace lines on the axial lobe, the only one from the region to be so adorned. The trilobite itself is 2.6 inches long (measured along the curve) and 1.3 inches wide at the widest extent of the cephalon. Its caramel-colored Calcite shell is well set off by the white limestone matrix. As always, the skillful Russian preparators have shown this fine specimen to best advantage, well-positioned on its 5.9 inch by 5.5 inch matrix.