Description
Stunning & large Lower Cambrian Mesonacis (Olenellus) cf. fremonti trilobite from the Great Basin of the American West. This 6.5 cm example is one of the most aesthetic pieces we’ve seen. The Olenellid is situated on a beautiful green & pink natural plate covered with dendritic crystal growths, with a dark red color band naturally framing the fossil. The trilobite departs from its younger gilberti cousin with its 15+ segments (the opistothorax is likely accounting for the 2 additional segments), steep intergenal angles, large prominent terminal telson (tail spine), along with a very inflated, bulbous glabella. The natural colors of the rock reflect mineral expressions of the over half a billion years of earth’s geological forces at work. This is a truly exceptional specimen.
Age: Lower Cambrian
Species Name: Mesonacis (Olenellus) cf. fremonti
Order / Family: Redlichiida / Olenellidae
Locality: Chief Range Mountains, Lincoln County, Nevada
Formation: Pioche Shale, Lower Member
