Top Results for Ordovician

Cyclopyge is a genus of trilobites from the Ordovician Period, recognized by exceptionally large compound eyes occupying much of the sides of the cephalon. It belonged to a group commonly interpreted as pelagic or deep-water trilobites rather than animals confined to the seafloor. The enlarged visua...

Carolinites is a genus of Ordovician trilobite characterized by very large compound eyes that provided a broad field of vision. Its remains occur in geographically widespread marine deposits, a distribution commonly interpreted as evidence that it lived in the open water column rather than remaining...

Neoasaphus is a type of trilobite fossil belonging to the Asaphida order and Asaphidae family. Primarily found in Ordovician deposits of Russia, particularly within the Baltic region, it’s notable for exceptionally well-preserved eyes. These eyes, often encased in three-dimensional calcite, reveal e...

Bothriocidaris is an extinct genus of sea urchin known from Ordovician marine rocks. It represents one of the earliest recognized echinoid lineages and provides evidence for the early diversification of the group during the Paleozoic Era. The genus is studied mainly by paleontologists investigating...

Isotelus rex is a remarkably large species of trilobite belonging to the Asaphida order. Recovered from Ordovician-age rocks in Manitoba, Canada, it represents the largest complete trilobite fossil ever discovered reaching approximately 72 centimeters in length. This specimen provides crucial insigh...

Neoasaphus kowalewskii is a fossil trilobite discovered in Russia’s Ordovician deposits. This species is notable for its exceptionally long stalks supporting its eyes, a unique feature among trilobites. Its stalked-eyes provide valuable insight into the sensory capabilities of asaphid arthropods dur...

Devonian odontopleurid trilobite with a distinctive elongated pygidium bearing prominent terminal spines, found in Devonian rocks across Europe.

Alice Evelyn Wilson (1881-1964) was a Canadian geologist and paleontologist associated with the Geological Survey of Canada. She began working there in 1909 in invertebrate paleontology, completed a geology PhD at the University of Chicago in 1929, and became the first woman employed as a geologist...

Pricyclopyge is a genus of trilobite belonging to the family Cyclopygidae, known from Ordovician-period deposits primarily in Bohemia (present-day Czech Republic) and Iberia. The genus is distinguished by its unusually large, forward-facing compound eyes, which cover a significant portion of the cep...

Asaphus is a genus of trilobite from the Ordovician period, belonging to the family Asaphidae, with fossils primarily found in the Baltic region including Russia, Estonia, and Sweden. Several species within the genus developed prominent stalked eyes, with Asaphus kowalewskii bearing eyestalks that c...

Scotoharpes is an extinct genus of harpetid trilobites that existed during the Ordovician period. The defining characteristic of this genus is its broad, pitted cephalic fringe, which wraps around the front and sides of the head shield. These pits are believed to have played a sensory role, helping...

Isotelus rex is a very large asaphid trilobite from Late Ordovician rocks in northern Manitoba, Canada. The holotype, catalogued as GSC 118814, is approximately 72 centimetres long and is commonly identified as the largest complete trilobite specimen known. Its exceptional size makes it important fo...

Cryptolithus is an extinct genus of trinucleid trilobite that lived during the Ordovician period. It is distinguished by its broad, perforated cephalic fringe, which extends outward from the head and is commonly referred to as a "lace collar." The genus was entirely blind, lacking compound eyes. Fos...

Isotelus is an extinct genus of large asaphid trilobite that lived during the Ordovician period. It possessed a smooth, relatively featureless exoskeleton and lacked the prominent spines seen in other trilobite genera. The species Isotelus rex, discovered in Manitoba, Canada, is recognized as one of...

Sphaerexochus is a genus of cheirurid trilobites known from Ordovician and Silurian marine rocks. Its most recognizable feature is a strongly inflated, rounded glabella, the raised central region at the front of the exoskeleton, which gives the cephalon a bulbous profile. Fossils assigned to the gen...

Charles Lapworth was an English geologist who resolved the contentious Ordovician-Silurian boundary dispute in 1879 by defining the new Ordovician geological period. He achieved this by using graptolite fossils to establish detailed biostratigraphic zones in the Southern Uplands of Scotland. Lapwort...

Paraceraurus is an extinct genus of cheirurid trilobite that lived during the Ordovician period. Fossils of this marine arthropod are widespread across Baltoscandia, particularly in regions corresponding to modern-day Sweden, Estonia, and Russia. It is distinguished by its heavily ornamented, spiny...

Selenopeltis is an extinct genus of odontopleurid trilobites that lived during the Ordovician period. Fossils of this marine arthropod have been discovered in widespread locations across Europe and North Africa. It is distinguished from other trilobites by a heavily spined exoskeleton, featuring exc...

Ceraurus is an extinct genus of cheirurid trilobites that thrived in shallow marine environments during the Ordovician period. These arthropods are commonly found in Paleozoic limestone deposits across North America and parts of Europe. The genus is distinguished by its heavily armored exoskeleton,...

Cameroceras trentonense is an extinct nautiloid cephalopod from the Middle Ordovician period, approximately 470 million years ago. Belonging to the order Endocerida, it possessed a long, straight, conical shell that represents one of the largest known shell structures in the fossil record, with esti...

Gabriceraurus is an extinct genus of cheirurid trilobite that lived during the Ordovician period. Fossils are known from North American marine deposits within the paleocontinent of Laurentia. The genus is distinguished by a pygidial margin bearing pronounced spines, a characteristic shared among man...

Cheirurus is an extinct genus of trilobite belonging to the family Cheiruridae, with a fossil record spanning the Ordovician through the Devonian periods. These marine arthropods are characterized by their distinctive, multi-lobed pygidium, or tail shield, which extends into prominent spines. Fossil...

Cybele is an extinct genus of trilobites that lived during the Middle to Late Ordovician period. Belonging to the family Cheiruridae, these marine arthropods are characterized by their distinctive, heavily tuberculate exoskeletons and broad, rounded pygidiums, or tail shields. Fossils of Cybele are...

Trinucleus is an extinct genus of trilobites that thrived during the Ordovician period, with fossils primarily located in Wales, Britain, and other parts of Europe. Belonging to the order Trinucleida, this genus lacked eyes and relied on other sensory mechanisms. It is highly distinguished by a broa...

Peter M. Sheehan (1941–2015) was an American paleontologist and geologist who spent much of his career as a curator at the Milwaukee Public Museum. He was widely recognized in the scientific community for his extensive research on the Late Ordovician mass extinction and the paleoecology of brachiopo...

Raphiophorus is an extinct genus of trilobites that existed during the Ordovician and Silurian geological periods. As a member of the family Raphiophoridae within the order Asaphida, this prehistoric arthropod possessed a highly streamlined body structure adapted to its marine environment. Its most...

Echinocystites pomum is an extinct species of echinoid, a group of marine animals that includes modern sea urchins. It lived during the Ordovician period within the broader Paleozoic era. Fossils of this species are paleontologically significant because they represent some of the earliest known reco...

Bothriocidaris globulus is an Ordovician fossil sea urchin in a genus named by Eichwald in 1860, among the earliest recognized echinoids.

The Kédama paleoesker in Quebec, Canada, is a remarkable ancient geological formation discovered in the 21st century, notable for providing insights into early glacial environments.