Ancient trilobites buried by a volcano 515 million years ago rise from the ashes in 3D

A volcanic eruption in what’s now Morocco preserved ancient trilobite specimens in nearly pristine condition about half a billion years ago.

About half a billion years ago, a volcanic eruption near a shallow sea in what’s now Morocco preserved some of the most complete specimens ever found of buglike sea creatures called trilobites, revealing anatomical details that scientists had never seen before. Within moments, a fast-moving torrent of hot ash and volcanic gases, called pyroclastic flow, engulfed the trilobites and then cooled and hardened to solid rock.

‘Extremely unusual’ discovery Over the past 200 years, paleontologists have identified over 22,000 species of trilobites from locations around the world that were once covered by oceans. Trilobites were arthropods, like modern insects, spiders, millipedes and crustaceans, and they evolved into a wide range of shapes and sizes before going extinct around 252 million years ago.

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