One described species of trilobite (Kayseraspis cf. brackebuschi, partially complete (articulated) specimen, 2160.78 m). Credit: Peter Haines, Geological Survey of Western Australia
Phys.org has a story about the discovery of six new species of Australian trilobites. The new animals hail from deep underground in Canning Basin of Western Australia. Their discovery was via a stratigraphic drilling program by the Geological Survey of Western Australia and Geoscience Australia. It sheds light on both ancient life and the geologic history of the region. The description of these trilobites has been published in the journal Alcheringa: An Australasian Journal of Palaeontology.
The discovery of trilobites at such a time and place is not too surprising. However, what was unexpected was the diversity and abundance within this core.
Normally, cored rocks only have a small area for fossils to be captured so usually there's little chance of hitting a fossil, let alone something useful for identification. Yet, in this sequence trilobites were so abundant that almost every single layer of rock contained a fragment. In fact, the rock is entirely made of trilobites in places, stacked one on top of each other, like a pack of playing cards!
Among the six new species of trilobite identified were a few highly unusual forms. For example, one species had a subtriangular tail with an extraordinarily long backwards pointing spine ornamented with blade-like serrations on either side. This feature appears to be characteristic of the genus Sanbernardaspis and is not found in other closely related trilobites.
