Description

Early Carboniferous
Kulm Cu 3
Aprath, BRD, Germany
14mm excellent plus partials on 51mm x 38mm slab.

Trilobite. Arthropod. Multiple.

Archegonus is a trilobite genus of the Late Devonian to Carboniferous and is known from sites in the United States, Europe, and China.

Trilobites had suffered and rebounded from mass extinctions across the Early Paleozoic, but during the mass extinction event at the end of the Devonian, they were nearly wiped out completely.  Competition for seafloor niches was fiercer than ever before. They were smaller and uncommon across the Carboniferous Period. 

Jump to the modern day. Because of their relative rarity, a decent Carboniferous-age trilobite is a must-have for any trilobite collection. It’s tough to find a piece with more than one on it, and this one is from an oddball locality, but here you go.