Description
Stunning, large 6.5 cm Olenellus gilberti nestled amongst beautiful branching dendrites on a thick chunk of Lower Cambrian matrix. One of the finest examples of this species available, 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 gilberti inhabited the shallow coastal ocean around the paleo-continent Laurentia some 520 million years ago, in what is now present-day Nevada and California. This specimen was collected in the early 2000’s.
Age: Lower Cambrian
Species Name: Olenellus gilberti
Order / Family: Redlichiida / Olenellidae
Locality: Lincoln County, Nevada
Formation: Pioche Shale
