This trilobite is an exceptionally well preserved Niobe schmidti from the middle Ordovician of the Oslo region. The limestone of the Huk Formation has an extreme geological history, which is why fossils from this formation are usually difficult to prepare. The limestone sticks heavily to the shell, which can be quite fragile.

This trilobite was relatively difficult to prepare too. The shell was partly hollow, very fragile and the matrix sticked strongly to it. The positive was assembled from two pieces and much of the shell of the left half of the trilobite had to be transferred from the negative. Despite these difficulties, a fantastic trilobite in exquisite preservation was the result at the end of the preparation. The terrace lines, pores and eye lenses are excellent to study.  

Fossil: Niobe schmidti (Balashova, 1976)

Locality: Oslo Region (Norway)

Formation: Middle Ordovician, Huk Formation, Lysaker member

Length of the trilobite: 5,5 cm (2.16 inches)

Work required: 26 hours

Collection: Mark Wolvers