Illaenus crassicauda

Illaenus crassicauda
Temporal range: Middle Ordovician
Fossil of Illaenus crassicauda from Sweden, on display at Galerie de paléontologie et d'anatomie comparée in Paris
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Clade: †Artiopoda
Class: †Trilobita
Order: †Corynexochida
Family: †Illaenidae
Genus: †Illaenus
Species:
†I. crassicauda
Binomial name
†Illaenus crassicauda
Wahlenberg 1826

Illaenus crassicauda is a species of trilobites belonging to the family Illaenidae. These trilobites lived in the middle Ordovician and in the Silurian age (443 - 418 million years ago). Fossils of this species have been found in the sediments of Sweden and Russia.

Etymology

The Latin species name crassicauda means "fat-tailed", with reference to the shape of the pygidium.

Description

Illaenus crassicauda can reach a length of about 14 centimetres (5.5 in). These trilobites are without glabella and without articulation of the tail. The cephalon has a high profile. The large bulbous head are distant from the axis of the head, close to the margin.

References