Dicranurus
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 Dicranurus monstrosus
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Extinct (fossil)
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Dicranurus ("Twin head-tail") was a genus of Lower Devonian lichid trilobites that lived in a shallow sea that lay between Euramerica and Gondwanaland, corresponding to modern-day Oklahoma and Morocco, respectively. As such, their fossils are found in Oklahoma and Morocco.
Their bodies averaged about an inch or so, in length, though their large spines made them at least 2 inches 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 lichids 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.
[edit] External Link
- Description of Haragan Formation, Oklahoma [1]
- Fossil Mall's description of D. elegans [2]
- Fossil Mall's description of D. hamatus [3]
- Fossil Museum's description of D. monstrosus [4]
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