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. 19. Restoration of a transverse section of the
thorax of _Ceraurus pleurexanthemus_ Green, showing the relation of
the appendages to the appendifers and the ventral membrane. The
probable positions of the heart and alimentary canal are indicated.]
No section shows anything which can be identified as any part of the
antennules, so that these organs have been supplied from analogy with
_Triarthrus_.
There are undoubtedly four pairs of biramous Cephalic appendages, but
their points of attachment are not so obvious. There are two pairs of
conspicuous appendifers on the posterior part of the cephalon and
another pair almost concealed by the hypostoma. It is probable that
the appendages of the cephalon were not attached directly beneath
them, as the four pairs have to be placed within the space occupied by
the three pairs of appendifers. As the mouth is in front of the
posterior end of the hypostoma, the gnathites of the first pair of
biramous appendages may have extended beneath that organ, or they may
have lain beside it, and only become functional when the hypostoma was
dropped down in the feeding position. The second pair of gnathites
reached just to the tip of the hypostoma, and the other two pairs
seemingly curved backward behind it.
The points of attachment on the thorax, as shown clearly in sections,
were directly beneath the lower ends of the appendifers. The
endopodites were long enough to reach to or a little beyond the outer
extremities of the pleural spines, while the exopodites were
apparently somewhat shorter. Each endopodite consisted of six short,
fairly stout segments, each with at least two spines on the somewhat
expanded distal ends. The exact form of the exopodites could not be
made out. The shaft was apparently rather short, unsegmented, and
fairly broad. The setæ appear from the sections to have been more or
less blade-shaped and to have overlapped, as do those of the
exopodites of _Cryptolithus_. Judging from their position in the
sections, the setæ not only bordered the posterior side of the shaft,
but radiated out from the end as well.
The pygidium shows three pairs of functional appendifers, hence three
pairs of appendages have been supplied. There is a fourth pair of
rudimentary appendifers, but as they are beneath the doublure they
could not have borne ambulatory appendages.
The Appendages of Acidaspis trentonensis Walcott.
(pl. 6, fig. 6.)
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