The west of the USA is known among trilobite collectors especially for its rich fauna of the Cambrian. Often the mostly flattened trilobites impress by long flowing spines. Such is the case with this Leptopaedeumias from California. The rare trilobite was found as a postive-negative pair, unfortunately missing the lower part of the rock with the long pygidial spine. 

Therefore, the main goal of the preparation was to create a showpiece as attractive as possible. For this purpose, a part of the original rock was removed from the negative and the positive was placed on top of it. Individual parts of the trilobite that had stuck to the negative were also removed and reattached to the positive. After that the trilobite was prepared and missing parts were reconstructed. At the end of the procedure an extremely attractive collection piece was created, which makes the original imperfection forgotten.

Fossil: Leptopaedeumias mesotes

Locality: California (USA)

Formation: Lower Cambrian, Echo Shale Member

Length of the trilobite: 5 cm (2 inches)

Work required: 13 hours