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The Upper Cambrian trilobites Plethopeltis and Leiocoryphe: Morphology, paedomorphism, classification

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 July 2015

Harry B. Whittington
Harry B. Whittington*
Affiliation:
Sedgwick Museum, Department of Earth Sciences, University of Cambridge, CB2 3EQ, United Kingdom
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Abstract

Plethopeltis armatus, and species of Leiocorpyphe, are shown to have in common a median ventral cephalic suture and thoracic axial rings with a poorly-defined articulating furrow and a strong transverse ventral ridge. In other characters they differ greatly, and to group them in the Plethopeltidae is open to question; this family may be polyphyletic. The median ventral suture is regarded as a cardinal character of Asaphida, but it is uncertain whether this character had a single origin or arose more than once. Leiocoryphe gemma may be a paedomorphic species derived from some Upper Cambrian trilobite with an effaced cephalon.

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Paleontology , Volume 77 , Issue 4 , July 2003 , pp. 698 - 705
Copyright
Copyright © The Paleontological Society

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