![A brown, oval-shaped trilobite fossil specimen embedded in a piece of rock. It has two eyes near the front of its body.](/sites/default/files/styles/wysiwyg/public/media/image/nmnh-usnmpal00558598-trilobite-edited-cm-1200x1000.jpg.webp?itok=N9fxM7BX)
Search
Information about the Fossil Family Day Trilobite Model
![A brown, oval-shaped trilobite fossil specimen embedded in a piece of rock. It has two eyes near the front of its body.](/sites/default/files/styles/wysiwyg/public/media/image/nmnh-usnmpal00558598-trilobite-edited-cm-1200x1000.jpg.webp?itok=N9fxM7BX)
- Official Name: Megistaspidella cf. M. obtusa
- Official Number in NMNH Collection: USNM PAL 558598
- Formation unknown, Russia
- Lower Ordovician Period
- Size of Trilobite:
- Length: 4 inches (10 cm)
- Width: 2 inches (3 cm)
- Height: 3/4 inches (1.8 cm)
- GUID for this specimen record (links to the Paleobiology Collections Database): http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/3ae3ea84b-4cb3-4b51-9067-6e5ff15a3b6e. The data was captured by NMNH intern Seth Clark.
![A gray 3-D model print of a trilobite fossil with a yellow tag tied to it. The tag identifies the specimen in the model.](/sites/default/files/styles/wysiwyg/public/media/image/trilobite-tag-1-450x450.jpg.webp?itok=dZs6i8xV)
The real specimen of this trilobite is featured in the new David H. Koch Hall of Fossils: Deep Time. It belongs to the genus Megistaspis. This specimen has a special “sub-genus” name, Megistaspidella, along with a provisional (“cf.”) species name, “obtusa.” The genus Megistaspis was very widespread; it is found all over the Northern Hemisphere, including the United States, Europe, and China. The age of this genus ranges between 478.6 to 449.5 million years, which makes it Lower Ordovician in age. It lived near the ocean floor, was medium-sized for a trilobite, and ate organic detritus that accumulated on the muddy seabed.