Museum Basseiarges mellishae Trilobites

Description: : This unusual trilobite assemblage comes from a location known as Jorf in Morocco, close to the site from which the polished goniatie ammonites originate. The preservation of the exoskeleton is reminiscent of them in terms of texture, unlike many trilobites from Morocco. Here is a fine death assemblage of no less than three examples, the result of some natural catastrophe, perhaps a slumping of a cliff. This is a NATUIRAL not COMPOSITE example of the taxon which has been assigned a new genus and species Basseiarges mellishae. It is a serendipitous association in that when first collected it was thought to consist only of the top specimen. As it was prepared a second, and finally a third example was exposed. Note the central specimen has a preserved hupostome. The flattened round shape and spines along the edge of the pleural and pygidiial lobes indicate to me a dweller of the seafloor. The body configuration would have served the same function as snowshoes.

Reference: Batalleria, 18, March 2012, pp 15-24