Thursday 30 July 2015

Creature 303: Dicranurus


Spiny trilobites

Dicranurus is a genus of 3 species of trilobites.

This genus is recognized by the large spine like structures protruding from its body, particularly the two big ones protruding from the back of the head. These were very likely some kind of defense mechanism.


Distribution:
These bizarre creatures lived in the early  Devonian period (around 395 to 420 million years ago).
Their fossils can be found in both Morocco and Oklahoma, which may seem strange under Earth's current configuration, but back then they were only separated by a body of water.

Classification:
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Trilobita
Order: Lichida
Family: Odontopleuridae
Genus: Dicranurus

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