Uncommon Marrolithus Ordovician Trilobite from Morocco

Description: This is an unusual trilobite from the Ordovician of Morocco known as Marrolithus. First described from the France, this one is most likely the same species. A detailed collection of trilobites from Amorica in France has allowed for the study of ontogeny in this species. Comparison with those indicates this is a late stage meraspid by virtue of the lack of an occipital spine. An outgrowth of this study indicates that unlike some other trinucleids this one in all likelihood did not have much of a pelagic larval stage. While preservation as limonite makes details less evident than in many Devonian trilobites, the fenestrae (pits) in the cephalic rim that may have been associated with filter feeding are evident, as are the long genals.

Reference: J Paleont. , 82 (4), 2008, pp 800-810.