Partially Intact Ordovician Trilobite Rolled Up

Most trilobite hunters look for the "holy grail" fossil which would be a fully exposed trilobite intact on the ground. From what I have seen on the internet and in displays are full trilobites that have extracted from rock using artificial means.

On my June 2008 trip to the Bardstown Road cut outside of Louisville, Kentucky this was my most intact trilobite find. I had found one more intact earlier in the year and hoped it would lead to more.

This trilobite is rolled up but part of its cephalon (or head) is missing. Trilobites rolled up when they sensed danger just like today's pillbugs.

As with the other trilobite fragments earlier shown this one was probably a Flexicalymene meeki from the Ordovician rock layer.