Description: This trilobite is a very beautiful and well preserved phacopid from the world famous locality “Red Cliff” Hamar Laghdad near Erfoud, Morocco. Presumably it is a still undescribed species of the genus Morocops. The trilobite was prepared from the limestone in about 12 hours of painstaking detail work and presents itself harmoniously on a natural matrix. Trilobites from this locality are not easy to prepare, as the shell is very delicate and the rock adheres strongly to the shell. Without the necessary care, unsightly puncture hits and abraded shell are inevitable. For this reason, most of the trilobites offered for sale from this locality are more or less badly damaged. This piece was glued together from six parts at the beginning of the preparation (see photos of the state of the find). Afterwards, the trilobite was carefully uncovered under the microscope with the help of compressed air and fine blasting equipment. No restorations or reconstructions were made to the fossil. Part of the rock was removed from the side and placed under the trilobite in order to present the piece in the best possible light (see photos). Particularly noteworthy is the excellent detail preservation of the shell, especially the extremely fine tuberculation. This trilobite seems to have been taken from a different stratigraphic layer, as on the one hand it is not the typical Austerops species and on the other hand the shell is preserved in a brownish colour with only a slight “red spot”.

As with all my fossils, this specimen comes with a signed certificate of authenticity confirming the fossil’s authenticity.