The Appendages, Anatomy, and Relationships of TrilobitesRaymond, Percy E. (Percy Edward)
Science
The Appendages, Anatomy, and Relationships of Trilobites
Raymond, Percy E. (Percy Edward)
Trilobites
The appendages of the head consist of two pairs of antennæ, and three
pairs of slender, jointed legs. Both pairs of antennæ are slender and
many-jointed, the antennules somewhat smaller than the antennæ. The
exact structure of the limbs about the mouth has not yet been made
out, but they are slender, tapering, endopodite-like legs, with at
least three or four segments in each, and probably more.
There are eight pairs of thoracic appendages, each limb having the
form of the endopodite of a trilobite and consisting of seven segments
and a terminal spine. The proximal three segments of each appendage
are larger than the outer ones, and have a flattened triangular
expansion on the inner side. Walcott also states that "One specimen
shows on seven pairs of legs, small, elongate, oval bodies attached
near the first joint to the outer side of the leg. These bodies left
but slight impression on the rock and are rarely seen. They appear to
represent the gills." They are not figured, but taken in connection
with the endopodite-like appearance of the segmented limbs, one would
expect them to be vestigial exopodites.
A small hypostoma is present on the ventral side, and several of the
specimens show wonderfully well the form of the alimentary canal and
the hepatic cæca. The main branches of the latter enter the mesenteron
just behind the fifth pair of cephalic appendages.
Behind the thorax the abdomen is long, limbless, and tapers to a
point. It is said to consist of at least thirty segments.
Compared with _Apus_, _Burgessia_ appears both more primitive and more
specialized. The carapace and limbless abdomen are _Apus_-like, but
there are very few appendagiferous segments, and the appendages are
not at all phyllopodan, but directly comparable with those of
trilobites, except, of course, for the uniramous character of the
cephalic limbs. A closer comparison may be made with _Marrella_.
=Waptia fieldensis= Walcott.
Illustrated: Walcott, Smithson. Misc. Coll., vol. 57, 1912, p. 181,
pl. 27, figs. 4, 5.
The carapace is short, covering the head and the anterior part of the
thorax. The latter consists of eight short segments with appendages,
while the six abdominal segments, which are similar to those of the
thorax, are without limbs except for the last, which bears a pair
of broad swimmerets. The eyes are marginal and pedunculate. The
antennules are imperfectly known, but apparently short, while the
antennas are long and slender, with relatively few, long, segments.
The mandibles appear to be like endopodites of trilobites and show
at least six segments. As so often happens in these specimens from
British Columbia, the preservation of the other appendages is
unsatisfactory. As illustrated (Walcott, 1912 A, pl. 27, fig. 5), both
endopodites and exopodites appear to be present, and the shaft of the
exopodite seems to be segmented as in _Triarthrus_.
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