Serrodiscus

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Serrodiscus
Temporal range: Lower Cambrian
Serrodiscus silesius germany.jpg
pygidia of Serrodiscus silesius
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Serrodiscus

Richter & Richter, 1941
Species]]

See text

Synonyms

ParadiscusKobayashi, 1943 [type: Microdiscus speciosus Ford, 1872]

Contents

Serrodiscus Richter and Richter 1941. [1] is a genus of Eodiscinid trilobite belonging to the family Weymouthiidae Kobayashi T. (1943), [2] Order Agnostida (Salter 1864). [3] It lived during the late Lower Cambrian, with remains found in Canada (Newfoundland & Nova Scotia), China (Gansu), The United Kingdom (England), Germany (Silesia), Poland (Holy Cross Mountains), the Russian Federation (Tuva, Gorno-Altayskaya, Kuznetsk Alatau), and the United States (Massachusetts, New York State). [4] It is named for the spines on the ventral side of the pygidium, which give it a serrated impression.

Fletcher & Theokritoff (2008) [5] designated Shaw’s (1950, pl. 79, fig. 24) [6] specimen of “Weymouthia nobilis (Ford, 1872)” [7] as the holotype of a new species, Serrodiscus weymouthioides, and considered Runcinodiscus Rushton (in Bassett et al., 1976) [8] [= ?Weymouthia nobilis (Ford, 1872)] to be a junior synonym of Serrodiscus. Weymouthia and Runcinodiscus had previously been viewed as closely allied with Serrodiscus (e.g. Rushton op. cit., 1976).

Species list

Distribution

Description

Like all Weymouthiidae, Serrodiscus lacks eyes and facial sutures. The cephalon is semi-elliptical; glabella conical or parallel sided and usually with weak or effaced furrows. Front of glabella does not extend to the anterior furrow; preglabellar field short (sag.) and sometimes separating the genae by a shallow depression. Occipital ring may or may not carry a backward-directed spine. Cephalic border convex, with up to eight pairs of tubercles laterally. Thorax has three segments. The pygidium has a wide, subconical axis with more than eight rings. The pleural fields are extremely weakly furrowed (on internal mould only). Pygidial border becomes narrower towards posterior and usually carries about 8 ventral spines either side. [4]

Behaviour

Serrodiscus could protect its soft underside by enrollment and it has been demonstrated that the ventral spines on the pygidial doublure interlock the nodes on the cephalic border, probably improving defense.

Related Research Articles

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Agnostus is a genus of agnostid trilobites, belonging to the family Agnostidae, that lived during the late Middle Cambrian – early Upper Cambrian. It is the type genus of the family Agnostidae and is subdivided into two subgenera, Agnostus and Homagnostus.

<i>Acidiscus</i> Extinct genus of trilobites

Acidiscus Rasetti, 1966, is a genus of Eodiscinid trilobite belonging to the family Weymouthiidae Kobayashi T. (1943), Order Agnostida Salter (1864). It lived during the Botomian stage = late Lower Cambrian Stage 4 ; the upper Botomian boundary corresponds to base of the Middle Cambrian, Miaolingian Series and Wuliuan stage.

<i>Acimetopus</i> Extinct genus of trilobites

Acimetopus Rasetti, 1966, is a genus of Eodiscinid trilobite belonging to the family Weymouthiidae Kobayashi (1943), Order Agnostida Salter (1864). It lived during the Botomian stage. = late Lower Cambrian Stage 4 ; the upper Botomian boundary corresponds to base of the Middle Cambrian, Miaolingian Series and Wuliuan stage.

<i>Analox</i> Extinct genus of trilobites

Analox Rasetti, 1966 is a genus of Eodiscinid trilobites belonging to the family Weymouthiidae Kobayashi T. (1943), Order Agnostida It lived during the Botomian stage. It can easily be distinguished from other trilobites by the two furrows that extend forwards and sidewards from the front of the glabella.

<i>Bolboparia</i>

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Leptochilodiscus Rasetti, 1966 [= Kerberodiscus Bassett et al., 1976] is a genus of Lower Cambrian Eodiscinid trilobite belonging to the family Weymouthiidae Kobayashi (1943), Order Agnostida. It lived during the Botomian stage = late Lower Cambrian Stage 4 ; the upper Botomian Stage boundary corresponds to base of both the Middle Cambrian Wuliuan stage and Miaolingian Series.

<i>Oodiscus</i>

Oodiscus is an extinct genus of small size trilobite, with three known species. It lived during the Toyonian in what are now Canada and the USA.

Stigmadiscus Rasetti, 1966, is a genus of Lower Cambrian Eodiscinid trilobite belonging to the family Weymouthiidae Kobayashi (1943) Order Agnostida It lived during the Botomian stage, = late Lower Cambrian Stage 4 ; the upper Botomian Stage boundary corresponds to base of both the Middle Cambrian Wuliuan stage and Miaolingian Series.

<i>Chelediscus</i>

Chelediscus Rushton, 1966, is a genus of Eodiscinid trilobite belonging to the family Weymouthiidae Kobayashi T. (1943), Order Agnostida Salter (1864). The Treatise assigns this genus to the Calodiscidae; Cotton and Fortey (2005) however move it to the Weymouthiidae. Chelediscus lived during the later part of the Botomian stage.

Runcinodiscus Rushton is a genus of Lower Cambrian Eodiscinid trilobite belonging to the family Weymouthiidae, Order Agnostida.

<i>Callavia</i>

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<i>Pagetia</i> Genus of trilobites

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<i>Weymouthia</i> (trilobite) Extinct genus of trilobites

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<i>Litometopus</i> Extinct genus of trilobites

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<i>Pleuroctenium</i>

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Tannudiscus Pokrovskaya (1959) is a genus of Eodiscinid trilobites belonging to the family Weymouthiidae Kobayashi T. (1943), Order Agnostida. It lived during the late Lower Cambrian, with remains found in Canada (Newfoundland), China (Gansu), The United Kingdom (England), and the Russian Federation.

The Hells Mouth Grits, formally defined and renamed the Hells Mouth Formation by Young et al., is a geological formation composed of Cambrian Greywackes in the south west part of St. Tudwal's Peninsula. Equivalent to the Rhinog Formation in the Harlech Dome, the grit beds exposed at St Tudwal's are very uniform in lithology and thickness when traced along the outcrops, with a gradual thinning southwards. They exhibit the characteristic textures and structures of greywackes but differ from the normal type in being relatively well sorted and commonly laminated. Intercalated mudstones are more variable both in thickness and in lithology and contain laminated mudstones rich in sponge remains. The sandstones have sharply defined bases, often bearing sole structures and occasionally loaded. Sandstone dykes cut down from the bases of some beds and extend through up to 0.6 m of underlying siltstones. The sandstones may form sheets up to 4 m thick, although a bed thickness of up to 1m is more usual, and have been interpreted as turbidites deposited by currents from the northeast.

<i>Plutonides</i> Extinct genus of trilobites

Plutonides is a genus of Middle Cambrian trilobite in the family Paradoxididae with species Plutonides sedgwickii and possibly Plutonides? illingi. Several other species and subspecies were at times placed in Plutonides but have subsequently been moved to other genera.

<i>Bailiaspis</i> Genus of trilobites

Bailiaspis Resser, 1936, is a Middle Cambrian (Miaolingian) trilobite genus belonging to the Family Conocoryphidae Angelin, 1854. Within the Acado-Baltic region, the genus ranges from Wuliuan into Guzhangian age strata.

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References

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