Description
Stunning, 4.8 cm large Olenellus gilberti nestled on an orange highlighted matrix. This specimen is nearly perfect featuring nice inflation, graceful sweeping spines and an extremely long telson (tail spine). The trilobite also shows exceptional small tubule patterns across the cephalic shield, possibly related to digestive or circulatory function. Large, aesthetic specimens of this quality are extremely difficult to come by. Olenellus are amongst the first complex organisms to appear on earth. Olenellus glberti inhabited the shallow coastal ocean around the paleo-continent Laurentia some 518 million years ago, in what is now present-day Nevada and California. A cephalon of Olenellus fowleri is present on the plate as well. This specimen was collected in the early 2000’s.
*A side note-Olenellus trilobites of this quality are extremely rare. The specimens offered here were collected from the 1980’s through the early 2000’s and represent the top 1%.
Age: Lower Cambrian
Species Name: Olenellus gilberti
Order / Family: Redlichiida / Olenellidae
Locality: Lincoln County, Nevada
Formation: Pioche Shale
