Detailed Trilobite

[Wetgreenie]

My uncle bought this for me when we were in a shop in Colorado.
I believe they said it was an actual fossil at the time $60.
I have always wondered if it might be a reproduction. It is a stone material and has tool marks and jagged chipped edges top and bottom. The Trilobite is as hard as the rest of it..I "felt" it with my teeth kind of how you are supposed to do with pearls. I think I found the web site to the shop we got it from and they seem to have many reproductions although, I never did see another like it in the shop or on the web site....any thoughts?

 

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[ohio]

Your piece is not a reproduction. On the other hand, it is very likely that a substantial portion of it has been restored or "doctored" (maybe not but, pretty likely). The bug is Moroccan. In recent years the invertebrate fossil market has been flooded with such examples. The locals eek a living from the land by collecting and preparing the fossils for export. It is definitely a neat piece. I have several Moroccan bugs of my own. The present a great opportunity for the collector to acquire really nice specimens without breaking the bank.
Ohio

 

[Wetgreenie]

I do remember now that they said it was from another country.
Thanks for your input!! I thought about this for years....

 

[Charlie P. (NY)]

Bugs gots six legs and sucking mouth parts. Trilobites ain't bugs.

But yes, some beautiful if somewhat questionable "prepaired" trilobires have been flooding out of Morocco/Africa. No question their "fauna" was some of the most extravagant of the trilobites, and the hand labor to expose the critter is worth the price paid. But they do fix with 'poxy what nature forgots . . . ie.

Check ebaY or google "trilobites" and there are many fetching good $.

 

[Wetgreenie]

But they do fix with 'poxy what nature forgots . . . ie.

I did happen to notice that it had been cracked in half at one point and stuck back together with some kind of epoxy compound.

 

[Charlie P. (NY)]

That's not necesarily a bad thing. As long as it was presented that way to the original buyer. Better they should make the repair somewhat obvious so there is no doubt. It's one thing to replace a piece that is loose. Quite another to fabricate a missing component.

Still. That's a beautiful specimen. My trilobites and partials are locally found (by me) and look like dirty squashed peanut shells. That one is a killer!

 

[Wetgreenie]

Thanks for the Ebay tip. I took a glance and the fist on that popped up was from morroco.
It has the same host material (Rock) and very similar tool marks.

I'm sure there are some out there but have not seen one like mine yet.
It's a good sign I'm not finding exact replicas.

 

[E59]

If a trilobite isn't a bug what is it? A crustacian? They look kinda like a horseshoe crab to me. It's a really neat specimin, thanks for showing us.

 

[kraken]

Trilobites are extinct arthropods that form the class Trilobita. All were gone at the end of the Permian.....
(I keep hoping that somewhere in the vast oceans of this world, that one still lives).

 

[Wetgreenie]

(I keep hoping that somewhere in the vast oceans of this world, that one still lives).

Yea! like the fish they found...

Coelacanth ("see-la-kanth"), that 400 million year old "living fossil" fish,