Beschreibung:

Arctinurus boltoni Middle Silurian -- 425 Million Years Old Rochester Shale Formation, Middleport, New York Trilobites are a long-extinct variety of arthropod and were the dominant multi-celled organisms on Earth for the first 200 million years of the evolutionary faunal explosion that occurred at the end of the Precambrian Era. In the Precambrian, complex life as we know it did not exist, the world at that time was populated mainly by very simple colonial and single-celled organisms such as bacteria and algae. Arctinurus is considered, by paleontologists and collectors alike, to be the most beautiful of all American trilobites. Perhaps nothing else in the fossil record of the entire Western Hemisphere can even come close to the exotic look and pleasing aesthetics of Arctinurus. It is found in only one location in the world, near Buffalo, New York, and is characterized by a unique bat wing appearance on the posterior lateral segments and a very ornate "Stealth Bomber" shaped head, or cephalon, with gorgeous, multi-faceted eyes. The entire body surface is covered with small bumps which may have held sensory whiskers, much like a cat, but which gives Arctinurus an overall pustulose (pimply) surface texture. The combination of these structural features gives Arctinurus a unique and unmistakable appearance possessed by no other trilobite genus in the world. In 2008 the Arctinurus quarry was closed permanently, making it nearly impossible for any new specimens to be collected. The present specimen is exceptional in every way, from its large size to the exquisite detail and three-dimensional character. Expert and laborious professional cleaning and preparation was done to free this trilobite from its rocky tomb, and the resulting specimen is virtually perfect. Presented on a trimmed natural shale matrix. Matrix measures 7 3/4 x 7 5/8in; specimen measures 5 1/4 x 4in