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
[Illustration: Fig. 14.--Slice through the hypostoma and thorax of
_Calymene senaria_ Conrad, showing the small size of the coxopodites
nearest the hypostoma. Shell in black, appendages and filling of
abdominal cavity dotted. From a photographic enlargement. Specimen 40.
× 3.8.]
[Illustration: Fig. 15.--Transverse section of _Calymene_, showing
method of articulation with the appendifer. The shell is in solid
black, the filling of the appendage and appendifer stippled. Traced
from a photographic enlargement of the slice. Specimen 63. × 7.]
_Exopodites._--Walcott admits that there is no direct evidence of spiral
exopodites in the cephalon of _Calymene_. No one of the sections
cutting through the plane of the hypostoma shows any trace of
appendages which could be interpreted as exopodites.
_Thoracic Appendages._
The large coxopodites of the anterior thoracic appendages are well
shown in many specimens cut longitudinally, of which Nos. 23, 50, and
55 may be mentioned, since photographs of them have been published by
Walcott (pl. 26, figs. 1-4, 1918). The endobases of all taper toward
the proximal ends. Transverse slices show sections of the coxopodites
which are no wider than those in longitudinal sections, indicating
that they were not compressed but probably cylindrical. This is borne
out by an individual (pl. 28, fig. 7, 1918) which is not a slice but
an actual specimen, the body cavity of which was hollow, and, opened
from above, shows the impressions of the last two coxopodites of the
cephalon, and the first four of the thorax.
One transverse section (No. 63, see our fig. 15) is especially
valuable, as it shows the method of articulation of the coxopodites
with the dorsal skeleton. Another specimen (No. 73) shows that
appendifers are present in _Calymene_, and while the appendifer does
not retain its original form in slice No. 63, the section does show
clearly that there was a notch in the inner (upper) side of the
coxopodite into which the lower end of the appendifer fitted, thus
giving a firm, articulated support for the appendage. This notch
appears to be slightly nearer the outer than the inner end of the
coxopodite, and since it must have made a kind of ball-and-socket
joint, considerable freedom of movement was allowed. The appendage
must have been held in place by muscles within the coxopodite and
attached to the appendifer.
No slice which I have seen shows a continuous section through all the
segments of an endopodite, but many, both longitudinal and transverse,
show one, two, or as many as three segments.
Such sections as No. 120 show that the endopodites of the thorax
were slender and composed of segments of rather uniform diameter.
Other sections, notably No. 83, 154, and in, show that they tapered
distally, and bore small spines at the outer end of each segment.
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