Rare Apianurus kuckersianus Russian trilobite


Name: Apianurus kuckersianus

Age: Middle Ordovician

Size: mm (25.4mm=1 inch): 3 inches long, 2.5 inches wide; The matrix itself is 5.5 inches long, 5.2 inches across, and up to 3.2 inches thick, making a suitable throne for this Emperor of Trilobites.

Location: Lower Ordovician Wolhovian Level deposits of the Wolchow River region near Saint Petersburg, Russia


Coming from the nearly half billion year old Middle Ordovician Asery Level deposits of the Wolchow River region near Saint Petersburg, Russia, this is an example of the EXCEEDINGLY RARE Odontopleurid Apianurus kuckersianus, a trilobite almost NO ONE has ever seen (to my knowledge, the ONLY other complete example EVER FOUND resides in the world's most extensive private collection). The genus was formerly assigned as Acidaspis, another quite bizarre creature, but the current name was given to similar material in 1968. This one has the marvellous Devonian trilobites Koneprusia, Dicranurus, and Ceratonurus as relatives, but far outclasses them all. The trilobite itself is 3.0 inches long (including the pleural spines) and 2.5 inches wide at the genal spines. Notice the many tubercules present on the the cephalon, thorax, and pygidium. The species name is derived from the Kuckers region of Estonia, where fragmentary remains have been found.

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Source: EDCOPE Enterprises