Cyclopyge (trilobite)
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Cyclopyge Temporal range: Ordovician |
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| Cyclopyge sp., cephalon 13mm long, Alnif, Morocco | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Trilobita |
| Order: | Asaphida |
| Superfamily: | Cyclopygoidea |
| Family: | Cyclopygidae |
| Genus: |
Cyclopyge Hawle & Corda, 1847, non Cyclopyge Mielke, 2002 = Olafia (butterfly) |
| species | |
| Synonyms | |
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Egle Barrande, 1846 non Egle Desvoidy, 1830, Aeglina |
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Egle Barrande, 1846 non Egle Desvoidy, 1830, Aeglina
Cyclopyge is a genus of small to average size trilobites that lived during the Ordovician. Like all members of the Cyclopigidae family, it has very large convex eyes, that cover most of the free cheeks, and in some species touch each other. The eyes almost touch the large glabella. The occipital ring has merged with the rest of the glabella. The glabella does not extend into a frontal thorn. The cephalon lacks genal spines. The 6 thorax segments have short pleurae. The pygidium is rather large, and often rather effaced. These are features that also occur in other Cyclopygidae, and are indications of a pelagic lifestyle.
The name Cyclopyge is composed of the Ancient Greek κύκλος (kyklos) "circle" and πυγή (pygo) "tail, rump". The species epithet rediviva is from the Latin redivīvus "brought back to life".
The genus was first named Egle by Barrande, but that name was not available, since it was used by Robineau-Desvoidy before for a willow catkin fly of the Anthomyiidae family.
As pelagic creatures, cyclogygids were not bound to shallow waters surrounding continents and islands. At the time they lived, continents weren’t blocking the exchange between different parts of the ocean, and this means they probably had large distributions, comprising one or more climate zones worldwide. Cyclopyge is well known from the Czech Republic, Morocco, England, Sweden, Canada (Newfoundland) and the United States.
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