RT Journal Article
T1 Extraordinary Ordovician trilobite Fantasticolithus gen. nov. from Peru and its bearing on the trinucleimorph hypothesis
A1 Fortey, Richard A.
A1 Gutiérrez Marco, Juan Carlos
AB Fantasticolithus isabelae, a new genus and species of trinucleid trilobite from the Lower Ordovician of Peru, developed anterior ventral cephalic ‘props’ that are unique in the Trilobita. Its broad and finely pitted genal prolongations are unlike those of any previously known trinucleid, and closely resemble those invariably present in the unrelated Family Harpetidae, supporting the hypothesis that the two families shared a similar mode of life, as ‘trinucleimorphs’. Fantasticolithus was probably derived from an early trinucleid with a marginal girder, although it resembles younger genera such as Marrolithus in its enlarged anterolateral pits. The new genus provides a natural experiment to test the hypothesis of trinucleimorphs as filter feeders that used a ventral feeding chamber. The role of the pitted marginal fringe as an egress for feeding currents is discussed. Fantasticolithus had an unusual anterior vent that provided a simpler exit mechanism for feeding currents than the pitted fringe. However, the pits were probably important for trinucleids that lacked an anterior arch.
PB Wiley
SN 2056-2799, ESSN: 2056-2802
YR 2022
FD 2022
LK https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/71367
UL https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/71367
LA eng
NO Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (MINECO)
NO IUGS-UNESCO
DS Docta Complutense
RD 8 abr 2025