Dramatically-Spined Ceraurus from Walcott-Rust Quarry

Description: The Walcott-Rust Quarry was discovered in 1870 by Charles Doolitte Walcott of Burgess Shale fame and William Palmer Rust. Many well-preserved trilobites were found there and both Walcott and Rust sold them to collectors and institutions. It is Walcott’s association with Louis Agassiz of Harvard University that encouraged him to pursue a career in academic rather than commercial paleontology. The site was subsequently forgotten, only to be reworked by Tom Whiteley starting in 1990. Many excellently preserved specimens have been recovered from this site which is known as an obrution Lagerstatt, signifying a site in which the specimens were rapidly buried. This specimen is known as Ceraurus pleurexanthemus. It is thought that the many spines may have acted much like snowshoes, keeping the trilobite at the surface of the muddy bottom. Alas, it was overcome by a storm deposits, affording you an opportunity to add this fine specimen to your collection.

Reference: Journal of Paleontology, No 73, Vol 2 March 1999, pp 288-305