RARE Proetopeltis Moroccan Trilobite

Description: This is the first example of the genus Proeopeltis I have been able to offer.. It comes from a new deposit in a location known as Hmar Lakhdad in Morocco. Hmar lakhdad means “red cheeks” in Arabic, an allusion to the rich wine red color preserved in the specimens from this location, a consequence of high levels of iron in the silicified exoskeleton. It is found in association with a Phacopid in which the ceplaon is either buried deep in the matrix or missing. Interestingly enough, phacopids from this site have been found that possess the red color to the exoskeleton and green eyes, a consequence of differential silicification and weathering of the iron and manganese absorbed by the specimen during diagenesis.