Psychopyge
termierorum
Trilobites
Order
Phacopida, Superfamily Acastoidea, Family Acastidae
Geological
Time: Middle Devonian
Size: Trilobite
is 55 mm long (overall with spines and rostrum) by 52 mm wide at genals
on a 110 by 100 mm matrix
Fossil Site:
Jebel Ofaten, Morocco
Code: 18023
Price: Sold
 Description:
This trilobite is a member of the Order Phacopida, Family Acastidae
from the Devonian deposits of Ofaten, Morocco known as Psychopyge
termierorum  (see
my other offerings for an example of Psychopyge
elegans), and another Psychopyge
termierorum. What is most unusual about this one is the exceptionally
truncated rostrum. For some reason Psychopyge had atendency to pathology
of this feature. I have seen one bifurcated at the tip, another
twice as wide as normal giving the appearance of a duck’s
bill, and an elongated version which was fully the length of the
body. This one is only the SECOND I have seen in nearly 15 years,
so it is either a new species (I have recently seen examples of
Quadrops that have a solid rostrum much like a shovel), or a pathology.
The other was from Issoumour and found in 2004. I am inclined to
think a pathology is more likely than a new species, but with such
an extremely limited sample size it is hard to be sure.
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