Name: Bergeroniellus
asiaticus (Russian
Trilobite) Class
Trilobita, Order Ptychopariida,
Superfamily Ellipsocephaloidea, Family Ellipsocephalidae
Geological Time:
Lower Cambrian Botomian
Stage
Size: 35
mm long by 31 mm wide on a 118 by 110 mm matrix
Fossil Site:
Sinsk Formation, Lena River, Russia
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Bergeroniellus
asiaticus has been assigned to the Redlichiidae of the Redlichiida
by some scientists and the Ellipsocephalidae of the Ptychopariida
by others. Whichever the case, it is an exceptional example from
the Botomian Stage ( 520-525 million year old) deposits of Russia.
The ecology of the Cambrian was quite fragile, perhaps in part due
to low diversity. Some believe the Botomian witnessed a mass extinction
as severe as that of the Permian. Some 83% of extant hard-shelled
genera are believed to have perished during this time period. This
example is quite well inflated, and far older than the more commonly
seen Asaphids.
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