Calymene Trilobite Fossil Morocco – Upper Ordovician (72mm)

This Calymene Trilobite Fossil is a substantial specimen with a clearly preserved cephalon, segmented thorax and pygidium. The individual segmentation is visible across the body, while areas of the surrounding matrix remain attached to the fossil. The specimen has been repaired, as noted in the condition details below.

Specimen Details

✓ SPECIMEN: Calymene Trilobite Fossil
✓ SPECIES: Colpocoryphe sp.
✓ AGE: Upper Ordovician, approximately 445 million years old
✓ FORMATION: Ktaoua Group
✓ LOCATION: Jebel Tiskouine, Anti-Atlas Region, Morocco
✓ SIZE: 45mm × 72mm × 29mm
✓ WEIGHT: 87 grams
✓ CONDITION: Repaired

The Story Behind the Fossil

Trilobites were ancient marine arthropods that inhabited Earth's oceans for more than 250 million years. Their distinctive bodies consisted of three main sections — the cephalon, thorax and pygidium — with the thorax made up of multiple articulated segments. Their hard exoskeletons fossilised readily, making trilobites among the most recognisable and extensively studied fossils.

This specimen dates from the Upper Ordovician, approximately 445 million years ago, when the region that is now Morocco formed part of an ancient marine environment. Trilobites lived on the seafloor, where different species occupied a variety of ecological niches, feeding on organic material and other small marine organisms.

The fossil-bearing rocks of the Anti-Atlas preserve an important record of ancient marine life. Following death, a trilobite could become buried beneath accumulating sediments. Over geological time, the sediments lithified and the remains were preserved as fossils. Subsequent uplift and erosion exposed these fossil-bearing rocks, allowing specimens such as this one to be recovered.

One of the fascinating behaviours of many trilobites was enrolment, in which the animal curled its body so that the head and tail shielded the softer underside. This defensive behaviour is frequently represented in the fossil record and provides an insight into how these ancient arthropods protected themselves.

Add an Ordovician Trilobite to Your Collection

With its substantial size, clearly defined segmentation and documented Moroccan locality, this Calymene Trilobite Fossil makes an interesting addition to a fossil collection. It provides a tangible connection to marine life that existed hundreds of millions of years before the age of dinosaurs.