Cladus: Eukaryota Vernacular Names
JELL, P.A. and J.M. ADRAIN (2002). Available Generic Name for Trilobites. Memoirs of the Queensland Museum 48(2) : 331-533
----------- Trilobites (pronounced traɪləˌbaɪt, meaning "three lobes") are a well-known fossil group of extinct marine arthropods that form the class Trilobita. Trilobites first appear in the fossil record during the Early Cambrian period (540 million years ago) and flourished throughout the lower Paleozoic era before beginning a drawn-out decline to extinction when, during the Devonian, all trilobite orders, with the sole exception of Proetida, died out. Trilobites finally disappeared in the mass extinction at the end of the Permian about 250 million years ago. When trilobites first appearred in the fossil record they were already highly diverse and geographically dispersed. Because trilobites had wide diversity and an easily fossilized exoskeleton an extensive fossil record was left, with some 17,000 known species spanning Paleozoic time. Trilobites have provided important contributions to biostratigraphy, paleontology, evolutionary biology and plate tectonics. Trilobites are often placed within the arthropod subphylum Schizoramia within the superclass Arachnomorpha (equivalent to the Arachnata),[2] although several alternative taxonomies are found in the literature. Trilobites had many life styles; some moved over the sea-bed as predators, scavengers or filter feeders and some swam, feeding on plankton. Most life styles expected of modern marine arthropods are seen in trilobites, except for parasitism.[3] Some trilobites (particularly the family Olenida) are even thought to have evolved a symbiotic relationship with sulfur-eating bacteria from which they derived food.[4] Despite their rich fossil record with thousands of genera found throughout the world, the taxonomy and phylogeny of trilobites have many uncertainties.[5] The systematic division of trilobites into nine distinct orders is represented by a widely held view that will inevitably change as new data emerges. Except possibly for the members of order Phacopida, all trilobite orders appeared prior to the end of the Cambrian. Most scientists believe that order Redlichiida, and more specifically its suborder Redlichiina, contains a common ancestor of all other orders, with the possible exception of the Agnostina. While many potential phylogenies are found in the literature, most have suborder Redlichiina giving rise to orders Corynexochida and Ptychopariida during the Lower Cambrian, and the Lichida descending from either the Redlichiida or Corynexochida in the Middle Cambrian. Order Ptychopariida is the most problematic order for trilobite classification. In the 1959 Treatise on Invertebrate Paleontology,[6] what are now members of orders Ptychopariida, Asaphida, Proetida, and Harpetida were grouped together as order Ptychopariida; subclass Librostoma was erected in 1990[7] to encompass all of these orders, based on their shared ancestral character of a natant (unattached) hypostome. The most recently recognized of the nine trilobite orders, Harpetida, was erected in 2002.[8] The progenitor of order Phacopida is unclear. When trilobites are found, only the exoskeleton is preserved (often in an incomplete state) in all but a handful of locations. A few locations (Lagerstätten) preserve identifiable soft body parts (legs, gills, musculature & digestive tract) and enigmatic traces of other structures (e.g. fine details of eye structure) as well as the exoskeleton. Trilobites range in length from 1 millimetre (0.039 in) to 72 centimetres (28 in), with a typical size range of 3–10 cm (1.2–3.9 in). The world's largest trilobite, Isotelus rex, was found in 1998 by Canadian scientists in Ordovician rocks on the shores of Hudson Bay.[10] Exoskeleton During molting, the exoskeleton generally split between the head and thorax, which is why so many trilobite fossils are missing one or the other. In most groups facial sutures on the cephalon helped facilitate molting. Similar to lobsters & crabs, trilobites would have physically "grown" between the molt stage and the hardening of the new exoskeleton. Thorax The thorax is a series of articulated segments that lie between the cephalon and pygidium. Number of segments varies between 2 and 61 with most species in the 2 to 16 range.[12] Each segment consists of the central axial ring and the outer plurae which protected the limbs and gills. The plurae are sometimes abbreviated to save weight or extended to form long spines. Apodemes are bulbous projections on the ventral surface of the exoskeleton to which most leg muscles attached, although some leg muscles attached directly to the exoskeleton.[13] Distinguishing where the thorax ends and the pygidium begins can be problematic and many segment counts suffer from this problem.[12] Trilobite fossils are often found enrolled (curled up) like modern woodlice for protection; evidence suggests enrollment helped protect against inherent weakness of arthropod cuticle that was exploited by Anomalocarid predator attacks.[14] Some trilobites achieved a fully closed capsule (e.g. Phacops), while others with long pleural spines (e.g. Selenopeltis) left a gap at the sides or those with a small pygidium (e.g. Paradoxides) left a gap between the cephalon and pygidium.[12] In Phacops the pleurae overlap a smooth bevel (facet) allowing a close seal with the doublure.[13] The doublure carries a panderian notch or protuberance on each segment to prevent over rotation and achieve a good seal.[13] Even in an Agnostid, with only 2 articulating thoracic segments, the process of enrollment required a complex musculature to contract the exoskeleton and return to the flat condition.[15] Pygidium The pygidium is formed from a number of segments and the telson fused together. Segments in the pygidium are similar to the thoracic segments (bearing biramous limbs) but, are not articulated. Trilobites can be described based on the pydigium being micropygous (pydigium smaller than cephalon), isopygous (pydigium equal in size to cephalon), or macropygous (pydigium larger than cephalon). Spines Some trilobites had horns on their heads similar to those of modern beetles. Based on the size, location, and shape of the horns the most likely use of the horns was combat for mates, making the Asaphida family Raphiophoridae the earliest exemplars of this behavior.[17] A conclusion likely to be applicable to other trilobites as well, such as in the Phacopid trilobite genus Walliserops that developed spectacular tridents.[18] Only 21 or so species are described from which soft body parts are preserved,[13][19] so some features (e.g. the posterior antenniform cerci preserved only in Olenoides serratus)[20] remain difficult to assess in the wider picture.[21] Appendages Trilobites had a single pair of preoral antennae and otherwise undifferentiated biramous limbs (2, 3 or 4 cephalic pairs, followed by a variable number of thorax + pygidium pairs).[13][19] Each exopodite (walking leg) had 6 or 7 segments,[19] homologous to other early arthropods.[21] Expodites are attached to the coxa which also bore a feather-like epipodite, or gill branch, which was used for respiration and, in some species, swimming.[21] The base of the coxa, the gnathobase, sometimes have heavy, spiny adaptations which were used to tear at the tissues of prey.[22] The last expodite segment usually had claws or spines.[13] Many examples of hairs on the legs suggest adaptations for feeding (as for the gnathobases) or sensory organs to help with walking.[21] Digestive tract The toothless mouth of trilobites was situated on the rear edge of the hypostome (facing backwards), in front of the legs attached to the cephalon. The mouth is linked by a small oesophagus to the stomach that lay forward of the mouth, below the glabella. The "intestine" led backwards from there to the pygidium.[13] The "feeding limbs" attached to the cephalon are thought to have fed food into the mouth, possibly "slicing" the food on the hypostome and/or gnathobases first. Alternative lifestyles are suggested, with the cephalic legs used to disturb the sediment to make food available. A large glabella, (implying a large stomach), coupled with an impendent hypostome has been used as evidence of more complex food sources, i.e. possibly a carnivorous lifestyle.[3] Internal organs While there is direct and implied evidence for the presence and location of the mouth, stomach and digestive tract (see above) the presence of heart, brain and liver are only implied (although "present" in many reconstructions) with little direct geological evidence.[21] Musculature Although rarely preserved, long lateral muscles extended from the cephalon to mid way down the pygidium, attaching to the axial rings allowing enrollment while separate muscles on the legs tucked them out of the way.[13] Sensory organs Many trilobites had complex eyes; they also had a pair of antennae. Some trilobites were blind, probably living too deep in the sea for light to reach them. As such, they became secondarily blind in this branch of trilobite evolution. Other trilobites (e.g. Phacops rana and Erbenochile erbeni) had large eyes that were for use in more well lit, predator-filled waters. The pair of antennae suspected in most trilobites (and preserved in a few examples) were highly flexible to allow them to be retracted when the trilobite was enrolled. Also, one species (Olenoides serratus) preserves antennae-like cerci that project from the rear of the trilobite.[20] Eyes Trilobite eyes were typically compound, with each lens being an elongated prism.[25] The number of lenses in such an eye varied: some trilobites had only one, while some had thousands of lenses in a single eye. In compound eyes, the lenses were typically arranged hexagonally.[16] The fossil record of trilobite eyes is complete enough that their evolution can be studied through time, which compensates to some extent the lack of preservation of soft internal parts.[26] Lenses of trilobites' eyes were made of calcite (calcium carbonate, CaCO3). Pure forms of calcite are transparent, and some trilobites used crystallographically oriented, clear calcite crystals to form each lens of each of their eyes.[27] Rigid calcite lenses would have been unable to accommodate to a change of focus like the soft lens in a human eye would; however, in some trilobites the calcite formed an internal doublet structure,[28] giving superb depth of field and minimal spherical aberration, as rediscovered by French scientist René Descartes and Dutch physicist Christiaan Huygens many millions of years later.[25][28] A living species with similar lenses is the brittle star Ophiocoma wendtii.[29] In other trilobites, with a Huygens interface apparently missing, a gradient index lens is invoked with the refractive index of the lens changing towards the center.[30] Abathochroal eyes are found only in Cambrian Eodiscina, had around 70 small separate lenses that had individual cornea.[33] The sclera was separate from the cornea, and did not run as deep as the sclera in schizochroal eyes.[27] Although well preserved examples are sparse in the early fossil record, abathochroal eyes have been recorded in the lower Cambrian, making them among the oldest known.[27] Environmental conditions seem to have resulted in the later loss of visual organs in many Eodiscina.[27] Secondary blindness is not uncommon, particularly in long lived groups such as the Agnostida and Trinucleioidea. In Proetida and Phacopina from western Europe and particularly Tropidocoryphinae from France (where there is good stratigraphic control), there are well studied trends showing progressive eye reduction between closely related species that eventually leads to blindness.[27] Several other structures on trilobites have been explained as photo-receptors.[27] Of particular interest are macula, the small areas of thinned cuticle on the underside of the hypostome. In some trilobites macula are suggested to function as simple ventral eyes that could have detected night and day or allowed a trilobite to navigate while swimming (or turned) upside down.[30] Sensory pits There are several types of prosopon that have been suggested as sensory apparatus collecting chemical or vibrational signals. The connection between large pitted fringes on the cephalon of Harpetida and Trinucleoidea with corresponding small or absent eyes makes for an interesting possibility of the fringe as a "compound ear".[27] Development Trilobites grew through successive moult stages called instars, in which existing segments increased in size and new trunk segments appeared at a sub-terminal generative zone during the anamorphic phase of development. This was followed by the epimorphic developmental phase, in which the animal continued to grow and molt, but no new trunk segments were expressed in the exoskeleton. The combination of anamorphic and epimorphic growth constitutes the hemianamorphic developmental mode that is common among many living arthropods.[34] Trilobite development was unusual in the way in which articulations developed between segments, and changes in the development of articulation gave rise to the conventionally recognized developmental phases of the trilobite life cycle (divided into 3 stages), which are not readily compared with those of other arthropods. Actual growth and change in external form of the trilobite would have occurred when the trilobite was soft shelled, following molting and before the next exoskeleton hardened.[35] Trilobite larvae are known from the Cambrian to the Carboniferous[36] and from all sub-orders.[35][37] As instars from closely related taxa are more similar than instars from distantly related taxa, trilobite larvae provide morphological information important in evaluating high-level phylogenetic relationships among trilobites.[35] By comparison with living arthropods, trilobites are thought to have reproduced sexually, producing eggs,[38] albeit without undoubted examples in the fossil record.[35] Some species may have kept eggs or larvae in a brood pouch forward of the glabella,[11] particularly when the ecological niche was challenging to larvae.[4] Size and morphology of the first calcified stage are highly variable between (but not within) trilobite taxa, suggesting some trilobites passed through more growth within the egg than others. Early developmental stages prior to calcification of the exoskeleton are a possibility (suggested for Fallotaspids),[39] but so is calcification and hatching coinciding.[35] The earliest post-embryonic trilobite growth stage known with certainty are the protaspid stages (anamorphic phase).[35] Starting with an indistinguishable proto-cephalon and proto-pygidium (anaprotaspid) a number of changes occur ending with a transverse furrow separating the proto-cephalon and proto-pygidium (metaprotaspid) that can continue to add segments. Segments are added at the posterior part of the pygidium but, all segments remain fused together.[35][37] The meraspid stages (anamorphic phase) are marked by the appearance of an articulation between the head and the fused trunk. Prior to the onset of the first meraspid stage the animal had a two-part structure — the head and the plate of fused trunk segments, the pygidium. During the meraspid stages, new segments appeared near the rear of the pygidium as well as additional articulations developing at the front of the pygidium, releasing freely articulating segments into the thorax. Segments are generally added one per molt (although two per molt and one every alternate molt are also recorded), with number of stages equal to the number of thoracic segments. A substantial amount of growth, from less than 25% up to 30-40%, probably took place in the meraspid stages.[35] The holaspid stages (epimorphic phase) commence when a stable, mature number of segments has been released into the thorax. Molting continued during the holaspid stages, with no changes in thoracic segment number.[35] Some trilobites are suggested to have continued molting and growing throughout the life of the individual, albeit at a slower rate on reaching maturity. Some trilobites showed a marked transition in morphology at one particular instar, which has been called trilobite metamorphosis. Radical change in morphology is linked to the loss or gain of distinctive features that mark a change in mode of life.[40] A change in lifestyle during development has significance in terms of evolutionary pressure, as the trilobite could pass through several ecological niches on the way to adult development and changes would strongly affect survivor-ship and dispersal of trilobite taxa.[35] It is worth noting that trilobites with all protaspid stages solely planktonic and later meraspid stages benthic (e.g. Asaphids) failed to last through the Ordovician extinctions, while trilobites that were planktonic for only the first protaspid stage before metamorphosing into benthic forms survived (e.g. Lichids, Phacopids).[40] Pelagic larval life-style proved ill-adapted to the rapid onset of global climatic cooling and loss of tropical shelf habitats during the Ordovician.[10] Fossil record The earliest trilobites known from the fossil record are "Fallotaspids" (order Redlichiida, suborder Olenellina, superfamily Fallotaspidoidea) and Bigotinids (order Ptychopariida, superfamily Ellipsocephaloidea) dated to some 520 to 540 million years ago.[41][42] Contenders for the earliest trilobites include Profallotaspis jakutensis (Siberia), Fritzaspis sp. (western USA), Hupetina antiqua (Morocco)[43] and Serrania gordaensis (Spain).[44] All trilobites are thought to have originated in present day Siberia, with subsequent distribution and radiation from this location.[42] Fallotaspids lack facial sutures, that is to say Fallotaspids are thought to pre-date facial sutures (as opposed to a group that secondarily lost facial sutures).[42] Fallotaspids are strongly suggested to be the ancestral trilobite stock: absence of facial sutures; apparently un-calcified protaspid stages and Fallotaspids underlying (pre-dating) or co-existing with all other trilobite occurrences.[39] However, recent developments[45] suggest the picture is more complicated (see[46] for discussion) and, likely to change as more information comes to light.[42] Origins Early trilobites show all of the features of the trilobite group as a whole; there do not seem to be any transitional or ancestral forms showing or combining the features of trilobites with other groups (e.g. early arthropods).[16] Morphological similarities between trilobites and early arthropod-like creatures such as Spriggina, Parvancorina, and other trilobitomorphs of the Ediacaran period of the Precambrian are ambiguous enough to make detailed analysis of their ancestry far from compelling (see[47] for discussion).[39] Morphological similarities between early trilobites and other Cambrian arthropods (e.g. the Burgess Shale fauna and the Maotianshan shales fauna) make analysis of ancestral relationships difficult (see[48] for discussion). However, it is still reasonable to assume that the trilobites share a common ancestor with other arthropods prior to the Ediacaran-Cambrian boundary. Evidence suggests significant diversification had already occurred prior to the preservation of trilobites in the fossil record, easily allowing for the "sudden" appearance of diverse trilobite groups with complex, derived characteristics (e.g. eyes).[23][42] Radiation and extinction For such a long lasting group of animals, it is no surprise that trilobite evolutionary history is marked by a number of extinction events where unsuccessful groups perished while surviving groups diversified to fill ecological niches with more successful adaptations. Generally, trilobites maintained high diversity levels throughout the Cambrian and Ordovician periods before entering a drawn out decline in the Devonian culminating in final extinction of the last few survivors at the end of the Permian period.[16] Evolutionary trends Principal evolutionary trends from primitive morphologies (e.g. Eoredlichids)[49] include the origin of new types of eyes, improvement of enrollment and articulation mechanisms, increased size of pygidium (micropygy to isopygy) and development of extreme spinosity in certain groups.[16] Changes also included narrowing of the thorax and increasing or decreasing numbers of thoracic segments.[49] Specific changes to the cephalon are also noted; variable glabella size and shape, position of eyes and facial sutures & hypostome specialization.[49] Several morphologies appeared independently within different major taxa (e.g. eye reduction or miniaturization).[49] Pre-Cambrian Phylogenetic biogeographic analysis of Early Cambrian Olenellid and Redlichid trilobites suggests that a uniform trilobite fauna existed over Laurentia, Gondwana and Siberia before the tectonic breakup of the super-continent Pannotia between 600 to 550 Ma.[42] Tectonic break up of Pannotia then allowed for the diversification and radiation expressed later in the Cambrian as the distinctive Olenellid province (Laurentia, Siberia and Baltica) and the separate Redlichid province (Australia, Antarctica and China).[42][50] Break up of Pannotia significantly pre-dates the first appearance of trilobites in the fossil record, supporting a long and cryptic development of trilobites extending perhaps as far back as 700 million years ago or possibly further.[50] Cambrian Ordovician Silurian and Devonian Silurian and Devonian trilobite assemblages are superficially similar to Ordovician assemblages, dominated by Lichida and Phacopida (including the well-known Calymenina). However, a number of characteristic forms do not extend far into the Devonian and almost all the remainder were wiped out by a series of drastic Middle and Late Devonian extinctions.[49] Three orders and all but five families were exterminated by the combination of sea level changes and a break in the redox equilibrium (a meteorite impact has also been suggested as a cause).[49] Only a single order, the Proetida, survived into the Carboniferous.[16] Carboniferous and Permian The Proetida survived for millions of years, continued through the Carboniferous period and lasted until the end of the Permian (where the vast majority of species on Earth were wiped out).[16] It is unknown why order Proetida alone survived the Devonian. The Proetida maintained relatively diverse faunas in deep water and shallow water, shelf environments throughout the Carboniferous.[49] For many millions of years the Proetida existed untroubled in their ecological niche.[16] An analogy would be today's crinoids which mostly exist as deep water species; in the Paleozoic era, vast 'forests' of crinoids lived in shallow near-shore environments.[16] Final extinction Exactly why the trilobites became extinct is not clear; with repeated extinction events (often followed by apparent recovery) throughout the trilobite fossil record, a combination of causes is likely. After the extinction event at the end of the Devonian period, what trilobite diversity remained was bottlenecked into the order Proetida. Decreasing diversity[53] of genera limited to shallow water, shelf habitats coupled with a drastic lowering of sea level (regression) meant that the final decline of trilobites happened shortly before the end Permian mass extinction event.[49] With so many marine species involved in the Permian extinction, the end of nearly 300 million successful years for the trilobite design is hardly surprising.[53] The closest extant relatives of trilobites may be the horseshoe crabs,[41] or the cephalocarids.[54] Fossil distribution There are three main forms of trace fossils associated with trilobites: Rusophycus; Cruziana & Diplichnites – such trace fossils represent the preserved life activity of trilobites active upon the sea floor. Rusophycus, the resting trace, are trilobite excavations which involve little or no forward movement and ethological interpretations suggest resting, protection and hunting.[55] Cruziana, the feeding trace, are furrows through the sediment, which are believed to represent the movement of trilobites while deposit feeding.[56] Many of the Diplichnites fossils are believed to be traces made by trilobites walking on the sediment surface.[56] However, care must be taken as similar trace fossils are recorded in freshwater[57] and post Paleozoic deposits,[58] representing non-trilobite origins. Trilobite fossils are found worldwide, with many thousands of known species. Because they appeared quickly in geological time, and moulted like other arthropods, trilobites serve as excellent index fossils, enabling geologists to date the age of the rocks in which they are found. They were among the first fossils to attract widespread attention, and new species are being discovered every year. Spectacularly preserved trilobite fossils, often showing soft body parts (legs, gills, antennae, etc.) have been found in British Columbia, Canada (the Cambrian Burgess Shale and similar localities); New York State, U.S.A. (Ordovician Walcott-Rust quarry, near Russia, and Beecher's Trilobite Bed, near Rome); China (Lower Cambrian Maotianshan Shales near Chengjiang); Germany (the Devonian Hunsrück Slates near Bundenbach) and, much more rarely, in trilobite-bearing strata in Utah (Wheeler Shale and other formations) and Ontario. The study of Paleozoic trilobites in the Welsh-English borders by Niles Eldredge was fundamental in formulating and testing Punctuated Equilibrium as a mechanism of evolution.[60][61][62] Identification of the 'Atlantic' and 'Pacific' trilobite faunas in North America and Europe[63] implied the closure of the Iapetus Ocean (producing the Iapetus suture),[64] thus providing important supporting evidence for the theory of continental drift.[65][66] Trilobites have been important in estimating the rate of speciation during the period known as the Cambrian Explosion because they are the most diverse group of metazoans known from the fossil record of the early Cambrian.[67][68] Trilobites are excellent stratigraphic markers of the Cambrian period: researchers who find trilobites with alimentary prosopon, and a micropygium, have found Early Cambrian strata.[69] Most of the Cambrian stratigraphy is based on the use of trilobite marker fossils.[70][71][72] Trilobites are the state fossils of Ohio (Isotelus), Wisconsin (Calymene celebra) and Pennsylvania (Phacops rana). Until the early 1900s, the Ute Indians of Utah wore trilobites, which they called Pachavee (little water bug), as amulets. A hole was bored in the head and the fossil was worn on a string.[73] 1. ^ Robert Kihm; James St. John (2007), "Walch’s trilobite research — A translation of his 1771 trilobite chapter", in Donald G. Mikulic, Ed Landing and Joanne Kluessendorf (Eds), Fabulous fossils - 300 years of worldwide research on trilobites - New York State Museum Bulletin 507, University of the State of New York, pp. 115–40, http://www1.newark.ohio-state.edu/Professional/OSU/Faculty/jstjohn/Kihm-and-St.John-2007.pdf Source: Wikispecies, Wikipedia: All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License |
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