Description
Bristolia bristolensis specimens of this size and quality are nearly impossible to acquire. The species is one of the oldest & most beautiful animals in the fossil record, appearing suddenly in the Lower Cambrian for a brief time & disappearing abruptly. At the few sites in North America they are found, they are very rarely found complete. Their impossibly long sets of spines were built for navigating turbulent waters & flipping themselves right side up when needed. It sits offset on a beautiful tan matrix with no repairs or restoration. The specimen is perfectly prone, curving slightly to the right at the lower thorax. A complete opistothorax (secondary thorax) shows clearly at the base of the telson. The spines are robust and inflated, with thick black mineralization preserving a coarse, pustulose surface. We are likely unable to offer a specimen of this quality anytime in the near future.
Age: Lower Cambrian
Species Name: Bristolia bristolensis
Order / Family: Redlichiida / Biceratopsidae
Locality: Lincoln County, Nevada
Formation: Pioche Shale
