Thysanopeltis in rich-red color

A usual moroccan trilobite as found: nothing to see from the outside

A usual moroccan trilobite as found:
nothing to see from the outside

Opening the stone, one can easily see the cross-section of the trilobite

Opening the stone, one can easily see
the cross-section of the trilobite

After glueing the pieces together, cephalon (front) and pygidium (back) were initially exposed

After glueing the pieces together,
cephalon (front) and pygidium (back)
were initially exposed

The pleuraes were prepared step-by-step

The final result after 17 hours of careful preparation

The locality of Hamar-Laghdad yields a lot of well preserved trilobites with a unique red shell. Thysanopeltis are very rare, so being able to prepare this well preserved specimen was a great pleasure for me.

The shell of trilobites found in this locality has a glass-like, fragile upper layer, which is easily damaged. Gentle sand blasting therefore is necessary.

Fossil: Thysanopeltis speciosa austromaura (?)

Locality: Hamar Laghdad (Morocco)

Formation: Devonian

Length of the trilobite: 3.6 cm

Work required: 14 hours