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Megistaspis ✝
| Description | Megistaspis is a genus of trilobites in the order Asaphida and family Asaphidae. From Wikipedia article at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Megistaspis, which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Source Data |
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| Rank | genus | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Taxonomy (GBIF,PBDB) | Life : Animalia : Arthropoda : Trilobita : Asaphida : Asaphidae : Megistaspis | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Taxonomic Status (GBIF) | accepted | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Classification (PBDB,GBIF) |
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| Scientific Name | Megistaspis Jaanusson, 1956 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Name Published In | Bull. Geol. Instn Univ. Upsala 36: 60 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Opinions (PBDB) |
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| Status (PBDB) | extinct | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Taxon Size (PBDB) | 20 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| First Recorded Appearance | 488 - 479 Ma Paleozoic | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Last Recorded Appearance | 461 - 450 Ma Ordovician | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Environment | marine (based on Trilobita) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Motility | fast-moving (based on Asaphida) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Vision | well-developed (based on Asaphidae) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Diet | deposit feeder (based on Asaphida) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ontogeny | molting,addition of parts (based on Trilobita) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ecospace Comments | BODY SIZE: Data from Harrington et al. (1959). | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Taphonomy | minor spines | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Primary Reference (PBDB) | J. J. Sepkoski, Jr. 2002. A compendium of fossil marine animal genera. Bulletins of American Paleontology 363:1-560 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Wikipedia | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Megistaspis |
Fossil Distribution
Subtaxa
| Name | Status | Common Name(s) | Fossil Occurrences | Oldest | Youngest |
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| Megistaspis (Ekeraspis) ✝ subgenus | listed (PBDB) | 16 | 485 Ma Cambrian | 472 Ma Early/Lower Ordovician | |
| Megistaspis (Megistaspidella) ✝ subgenus | listed (PBDB) | 32 | 472 Ma Early/Lower Ordovician | 468 Ma Middle Ordovician | |
| Megistaspis (Megistaspis) ✝ subgenus | listed (PBDB) | 37 | 472 Ma Early/Lower Ordovician | 467 Ma Middle Ordovician | |
| Megistaspis (Paramegistaspis) ✝ subgenus | listed (PBDB) | 37 | 485 Ma Cambrian | 479 Ma Early/Lower Ordovician | |
| Megistaspis (Rhinoferus) ✝ subgenus | listed (PBDB) | 19 | 478 Ma Early/Lower Ordovician | 470 Ma Middle Ordovician | |
| Megalaspis acuticauda species | accepted (GBIF) | No associated record in PBDB | |||
| Megalaspis pugiocauda ✝ species | accepted (GBIF) listed (PBDB) | 1 | 479 Ma Early/Lower Ordovician | 479 Ma Early/Lower Ordovician | |
| Megalaspis saltaensis ✝ species | accepted (GBIF) listed (PBDB) | 5 | 485 Ma Cambrian | 479 Ma Early/Lower Ordovician | |
| Megistaspis armata species | accepted (GBIF) | No associated record in PBDB | |||
| Megistaspis floweri species | accepted (GBIF) | No associated record in PBDB | |||
| Megistaspis heroides species | accepted (GBIF) | No associated record in PBDB | |||
| Megistaspis hyorrhina species | accepted (GBIF) | No associated record in PBDB | |||
| Megistaspis limbata species | accepted (GBIF) | No associated record in PBDB | |||
| Megistaspis limbatus ✝ species | listed (PBDB) | ||||
| Megistaspis nevadensis species | accepted (GBIF) | No associated record in PBDB | |||
| Megistaspis planilimbata species | accepted (GBIF) | No associated record in PBDB | |||
| Megistaspis polyphemus species | accepted (GBIF) | No associated record in PBDB | |||
| Megistaspis pugiocauda species | accepted (GBIF) | No associated record in PBDB | |||
| Megistaspis saltaensis species | accepted (GBIF) | No associated record in PBDB | |||
Synonymy List
| Year | Name and Author |
|---|---|
| 1851 | Megalaspis Angelin |
| 1956 | Megistaspis Jaanusson |
| 1957 | Megalaspis Harrington and Leanza |
| 1999 | Megistaspis Hoel |
| 2002 | Megistaspis Jell and Adrain p. 404 |
| 2002 | Megalaspis Sepkoski, Jr. |
| 2002 | Megistaspis Sepkoski, Jr. |
References
Data courtesy of: PBDB: The Paleobiology Database, Creative Commons CC-BY licenced. , GBIF: the Global Biodiversity Information Facility, various licences, iDigBio, various licences, and EOL: The Encyclopedia of Life (Open Data Public Domain). Because fossils are made of minerals too!
Øvre Eiker, Buskerud, Norway