Cryptolithus
bellulus
Trilobites,
Trilobite Order Asaphida, Family
Trinucleidae
Geological
Time: Upper Ordovician
Size: 15
mm
Fossil Site:
Swatara Gap, Pennsylvania
Well-preserved
example of a member of the Order Asaphida, Family Trinucleidae,
with dramatically-displayed genal spines, a feature often not preserved
intact. The cephalic pits (fenestrae) are also evident, the means
by which this trilobite filtered detritus from the seafloor. The
trilobite presumably hovered at the seafloor, using its legs to
kick up particulates which then passed through the cephalic ring. | |