Dicranurus
| Dicranurus Temporal range: Devonian | |
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| Dicranurus hamatus elegantus | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Trilobita |
| Order: | Odontopleurida Moore, 1959 |
| Family: | Odontopleuridae |
| Genus: | Dicranurus |
| species | |
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Dicranurus. |
Dicranurus ("Twin head-tail") is a genus of Lower Devonian odontopleurid trilobites that lived in a shallow sea that lay between Euramerica and Gondwana, corresponding to modern-day Oklahoma and Morocco, respectively. As such, their fossils are found in New York, Oklahoma, and Morocco.
Their bodies averaged about 1-inch (25 mm) or so, in length, though their large spines made them at least 2 inches (51 mm) in length. It is speculated that such tremendous spines hampered the ability of predators, such as arthrodire placoderms, to attack them, as well as to help prevent them from sinking into the soft mud of their environment. Dicranurus trilobites are distinguished from other odontopleurids by the pair of large, curled, horn-like spines that emanate from behind the glabellum. The genus name refers to these distinctive horns, in fact.
External links
- Description of Haragan Formation, Oklahoma
- Fossil Mall's description of D. elegans
- Fossil Mall's description of D. hamatus
- Fossil Museum's description of D. monstrosus