Homalonotidae Temporal range: | |
---|---|
Homalonotus | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Arthropoda |
Class: | † Trilobita |
Order: | † Phacopida |
Suborder: | † Calymenina |
Family: | † Homalonotidae Chapman, 1890 |
Homalonotidae is a family of trilobites that lived from the Ordovician to the Devonian. They are characterised by a shovel-like cephalon (head), and are closely related to the family Calymenidae. [1]
It contains the following genera: [2]
Agnostida are an order of extinct arthropods which have classically been seen as a group of highly modified trilobites, though some recent research has doubted this placement. Regardless, they appear to be close relatives as part of the Artiopoda. They are present in the Lower Cambrian fossil record along with trilobites from the Redlichiida, Corynexochida, and Ptychopariida orders, and were highly diverse throughout the Cambrian. Agnostidan diversity severely declined during the Cambrian-Ordovician transition, and the last agnostidans went extinct in the Late Ordovician.
The Ordovician is a geologic period and system, the second of six periods of the Paleozoic Era. The Ordovician spans 41.6 million years from the end of the Cambrian Period 485.4 million years ago (Ma) to the start of the Silurian Period 443.8 Mya.
Trilobites are extinct marine arthropods that form the class Trilobita. Trilobites form one of the earliest known groups of arthropods. The first appearance of trilobites in the fossil record defines the base of the Atdabanian stage of the Early Cambrian period and they flourished throughout the lower Paleozoic before slipping into a long decline, when, during the Devonian, all trilobite orders except the Proetida died out. The last extant trilobites finally disappeared in the mass extinction at the end of the Permian about 251.9 million years ago. Trilobites were among the most successful of all early animals, existing in oceans for almost 270 million years, with over 22,000 species having been described.
Nektaspida is an extinct order of non-mineralised artiopodan arthropods. They are known from the mid-Cambrian to the upper Silurian. Originally classified as trilobites, which they superficially resemble, they are now placed as close relatives as members of the Trilobitomorpha within Artiopoda. The order is divided into three major families; Emucarididae, Liwiidae, and Naraoiidae.
Asaphida is a large, morphologically diverse order of trilobites found in marine strata dated from the Middle Cambrian until their extinction during the Silurian. Asaphida contains six superfamilies, but no suborders. Asaphids comprise some 20% of described fossil trilobites.
Phacopida ("lens-face") is an order of trilobites that lived from the Late Cambrian to the Late Devonian. It is made up of a morphologically diverse assemblage of taxa in three related suborders.
John William Salter was an English naturalist, geologist, and palaeontologist.
The Cambrian–Ordovician extinction event, also known as the Cambrian-Ordovician boundary event, was an extinction event that occurred approximately 485 million years ago (mya) in the Paleozoic era of the early Phanerozoic eon. It was preceded by the less-documented End-Botomian mass extinction around 517 million years ago, and the Dresbachian extinction event about 502 million years ago.
The Furongian is the fourth and final epoch and series of the Cambrian. It lasted from 497 to 485.4 million years ago. It succeeds the Miaolingian series of the Cambrian and precedes the Lower Ordovician Tremadocian Stage. It is subdivided into three stages: the Paibian, Jiangshanian and the unnamed 10th stage of the Cambrian.
Isotelus is a genus of asaphid trilobites from the middle and upper Ordovician period, fairly common in the Northeastern United States, northwest Manitoba, southwestern Quebec and southeastern Ontario. One species, Isotelus rex, is currently the world's largest trilobite ever found as a complete fossil, and was probably exceeded in size only by Hungioides bohemicus, in which the specimens probably exceeding Isotelus rex in size are only known from partial remains.
Triarthrus is a genus of Upper Ordovician ptychopariid trilobite found in New York, Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana, eastern and northern Canada, China and Scandinavia. It is the last of the Olenid trilobites, a group which flourished in the Cambrian period. The specimens of T. eatoni that are found in the Beecher's Trilobite Bed, Rome, New York area are exquisitely preserved showing soft body parts in iron pyrite. Pyrite preservation has given scientists a rare opportunity to examine the gills, walking legs, antennae, digestive systems, and eggs of trilobites, which are rarely preserved. Triarthrus is therefore commonly used in science texts to illustrate trilobite anatomy and physiology.
Flexicalymene Shirley, 1936. is a genus of trilobites belonging to the order Phacopida, suborder Calymenina and Family Calymenidae. Flexicalymene specimens can be mistaken for Calymene, Gravicalymene, Diacalymene and a few other Calymenina genera. They are used as an index fossil in the Ordovician. Ohio and North America are particularly known for being rich with Flexicalymene fossils.
Gravicalymene Shirley, 1936, is a genus of trilobites belonging to the order Phacopida, suborder Calymenina and family Calymenidae. Species included in this genus have previously been allocated to Calymene Brongniart 1822,Flexicalymene Shirley, 1936. and Sthenarocalymene Siveter 1977.
Selenopeltis is an extinct genus of odontopleurid trilobites in the family Odontopleuridae.
Beecher's Trilobite Bed is a Konservat-Lagerstätte of Late Ordovician (Caradoc) age located within the Frankfort Shale in Cleveland's Glen, Oneida County, New York, USA. Only 3–4 centimeters thick, Beecher's Trilobite Bed has yielded numerous exceptionally preserved trilobites with the ventral anatomy and soft tissue intact, the soft tissue preserved by pyrite replacement. Pyritisation allows the use of X-rays to study fine detail of preserved soft body parts still within the host rock. Pyrite replacement of soft tissue is unusual in the fossil record; the only Lagerstätten thought to show such preservation were Beecher's Trilobite Bed, the Devonian Hunsrück Slates of Germany, and the Jurassic beds of La Voulte-sur-Rhône in France, although new locations are coming to light in New York state.
Asaphidae is a family of asaphid trilobites. Although the first genera originate in Upper Cambrian marine strata, the family becomes the most widely distributed and most species-rich trilobite family during the Ordovician. 754 species assigned to 146 genera are included in Asaphidae.
Stage 10 of the Cambrian is the still unnamed third and final stage of the Furongian series. It follows the Jiangshanian and precedes the Ordovician Tremadocian Stage. The proposed lower boundary is the first appearance of the trilobite Lotagnostus americanus around 489.5 million years ago, but other fossils are also being discussed. The upper boundary is defined as the appearance of the conodont Iapetognathus fluctivagus which marks the beginning of the Tremadocian and is radiometrically dated as 485.4 million years ago.
Paleontology in Illinois refers to paleontological research occurring within or conducted by people from the U.S. state of Illinois. Scientists have found that Illinois was covered by a sea during the Paleozoic Era. Over time this sea was inhabited by animals including brachiopods, clams, corals, crinoids, sea snails, sponges, and trilobites.
Ogygiocarella Brongniart, 1822, is a genus of asaphid trilobites. It occurred during the Middle Ordovician.
Cyclopyge is a genus of small to average size trilobites that lived during the Ordovician. Like all members of the family Cyclopigidae, it has very large convex eyes, that cover most of the free cheeks, and in some species touch each other. The eyes almost touch the large glabella. The occipital ring has merged with the rest of the glabella. The glabella does not extend into a frontal thorn. The cephalon lacks genal spines. The 6 thorax segments have short pleurae. The pygidium is rather large, and often rather effaced. These are features that also occur in other Cyclopygidae, and are indications of a pelagic lifestyle.