Generally speaking, trilobite fossils are not rare. In fact, trilobites were among the most diverse and abundant animals during the late Cambrian Period. By then, there were at least 60 families of trilobites. Trilobites existed in some form for over 270 million years. As hard-shelled arthropods with such a long reign, trilobites left behind plenty of fossils. They also had plenty of time to diversify into different species, and there are tens of thousands of recognized species that have been divided into ten different orders.
And naturally, some species of trilobites are more common than others. Rare trilobite fossils are, of course, a hot item for collectors, but even the most common trilobites are worth picking up. That's how awesome trilobites are!
Elrathia kingii is often described as the best-known and most common trilobite. It is certainly the most common trilobite found in the United States. It lived during the Cambrian Period from 513 to about 498.5 million years ago. E. kingii, which belonged to the order Ptychopariida, has been found in Utah – and it is very prevalent. One collector found 1.5 million specimens over a 20-year period!
Ellipsocephalus hoffi is the most common trilobite found in Europe. It lived during the middle of the Cambrian Period and also belonged to the order Ptychopariida. It is the most common trilobite found in the Czech Republic’s Barrandian formations, where it is often found in “mass mortality layers”, where you can find dozens of trilobites lying on top of each other.
Other common trilobite species include the following:
In contrast to the extremely common trilobites listed above, some trilobite species are known from only a single specimen. In some cases, scientists identified a trilobite species by assembling parts from several different fossils. A few are so rare that they have not yet been assigned species names.
Good luck finding one of these ultra-rare trilobites. It's certainly possible; stay vigilant and hopeful!
For generations, people in China had been collecting “swallow stones” that they believed would bring them luck. The “stones” were actually "pygida", or trilobite tails. Paleontologists didn’t find a whole fossil of one of these types of trilobites until 2005. Named Neodrepanura premsnili, it lived during the Cambrian Period. Researchers have since found two more complete specimens.
Is one in your collection?
Metopolichas breviceps is known from only a single specimen found in Indiana’s Waldron shale quarries. It lived during the Silurian Period about 425 million years ago. Researchers have speculated that strong ocean currents tore apart most of these trilobites' bodies, thus preventing their fossilization.
Dikelocephalus minnesotensis is also known from one complete specimen – one that was 10 cm (4 inches) long. Back in the 1960s, it was supposedly discovered – being used as a doorstop in somebody’s house. Since that ignominious beginning, D. minnesotensis spent two decades as the centerpiece of the Smithsonian’s trilobite display until the museum’s 2015 renovation.
In a similar vein, a group of paleontologists was working in the Walcott-Rust quarry in New York several years ago. They had been using a large rock as a seat and eventually decided to break it open to see if anything interesting was inside. They found a complete fossil of a spiny trilobite that belonged to the genus Apianurus – the first and only member of that genus to be found in the quarry after 150 years of excavations. The trilobite, which had lived during the Ordovician, is now housed at the Smithsonian.
The Haragan Formation in Oklahoma has also been extensively excavated for decades. In 2007, however, paleontologists found a new species belonging to the genus Laethoprusia, which belongs to the order Odontopleurida. The trilobite was about an inch long and lived during the Devonian. It also had spines extending from its entire body.
Portugal’s Valongo Formation has also produced a large number of trilobite fossils over the years. The rarest is Uralichas aff. guitierrezi, which had lived during the middle of the Ordovician. It is known from fragments and three complete specimens – which indicate it could have grown to be over a foot long.
https://www.fossilguy.com/gallery/invert/arthropod/trilobite/index.htm
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elrathia
https://www.amnh.org/research/paleontology/collections/fossil-invertebrate-collection/trilobite-website/the-trilobite-files/trilobite-top-tens
http://www.fossilmuseum.net/Fossil_Galleries/TrilobitesOklahoma/laethoprusia/laethoprusia.htm
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