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Trilobite Fossil. Isotelus brachycephalus. Upper Ordovician. Dillsboro Formation. Oldenburg, Indiana, USA. ...
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Description
Trilobite FossilIsotelus brachycephalus
Upper Ordovician
Dillsboro Formation
Oldenburg, Indiana, USA
Trilobites are an extinct variety of ancient marine arthropods which flourished during the Paleozoic Era before dying out in the mass extinction at the end of the Permian some 250 million years ago. While all gone at that point, Trilobites thrived in the oceans of the prehistoric world for an incredible 270 million years. These odd-looking and popular creatures had the first complex vision center of any organism. An evolutionary trait of Trilobites was gigantism which impacted the Asaphidia to which Isotelus belonged.
The term "museum quality" is much too often overused, but this truly spectacular Trilobite specimen is no doubt fitting of that moniker. The very large Isotelus exhibits virtually no visible restoration and is an amazing example of the much sought after variety. The specimen features a lovely dark caramel-colored carapace which contrasts nicely with the blue-gray matrix in which it rests. Specimens of this quality are not typically seen in private collections, and any others of this grade would likely be found in a museum.
This massive top notch specimen is nicely inflated and shows relatively minimal cracking of the fossilized shell, at least compared with many other similar fossils, which often exhibit a large amount of fracturing. There is some debate as to the proper species to assign to this variety as it obviously presents much like an Isotelus maximus. The bottom line is that Isotelus brachycephalus may in actuality just be a variant of the maximus which, of course, is a very well-known and accepted variety. The Isotelus genus happens to be the state fossil of Ohio which is known for producing some of the best specimens ever found. The fossil itself measures approximately 9 inches (22.9 cm) long and 6.25 inches (15.9 cm) wide, with the width from tip to tip of the genal spines about 7 inches (17.8 cm).
Overall Measurements: 12.40 x 11.02 x 2.95 inches (31.50 x 28.00 x 7.50 cm)
[Scale: 1 inch, with mark at 1 cm]
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