Is This Normal for a Trilobite

[JurassicParkCarnotaurus]

So I’m a newb at the fossil stuff. I mean I have fossils and like Jurassic Park as much as the next guy... well a little more maybe. But anyway I was looking through my collection the other day and came across this trilobite I got from my friend a long time ago and it has always anoyed me for some reason. I just don’t know if it’s normal and he broke it or what is going on with it. I thought I’d ask the experts here. Also it’s from a cliff on a beach on Lake Erie in Buffalo, New York. Thanks

[JurassicParkCarnotaurus]

[doushantuo]

Arthropods(so: trilobites also) have to shed and "renew" (so to speak) their cuticle/integument/epiderm("skin",if you like) during growth

In short: yes,it is normal

[Ludwigia]

@JurassicParkCarnotaurus What you have there is a socalled enrolled trilobite, which is probably why it looks strange to you, since it's rolled up and not flat. This is supposed to have been a posture which the creatures took on in order to protect themselves and often occurred shortly before death and burial. Here are some typical samples of Eldredgeops rana from Penn Dixie. Yours is the same species from the same area.

 

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[JurassicParkCarnotaurus]

Thanks so much guys that really clears things up. I knew you would come through.