Abstract
AbstractThree new species ofCyphaspidesare proposed:C. ammari, C. nicoleae, andC. pankowskiorum. These species are based on specimens obtained from Middle Devonian (Eifelian) strata of the Bou Tchrafine Group, near Erfoud, in the Province of Errachidia, southeastern Morocco. The present contribution enhances our knowledge ofCyphaspidesby providing details of three new species that are based on well-preserved, complete, and articulated types. The genusCyphaspidesis discussed, and an emended diagnosis is provided. The paleobiogeography, ontogeny, and relationships of the genus are discussed.UUID:http://zoobank.org/4a7aab8f-8c8e-4498-9cc2-6f8c69b85213
Highlights
Moroccan Lower and Middle Devonian trilobite faunas are known for their abundance and diversity, frequent occurrence of articulated specimens, and exceptional quality of preservation
We assign Crônier and colleagues’ (2018) illustrated specimen with question to Cyphaspides ammari new species. We note that they considered the specimens that they illustrated from Hamar Laghdad to be upper Emsian in age rather than Eifelian
We concluded that most of the pictures of Moroccan specimens of Cyphaspides posted on the Internet belong to one of the three species that we propose
Summary
Moroccan Lower and Middle Devonian trilobite faunas are known for their abundance and diversity, frequent occurrence of articulated specimens, and exceptional quality of preservation. This suggests that the trilobites occur in the lowest formation (Cornice inférieur) of the Bou Tchrafine Group, a unit of Eifelian age This would agree with the nature of the outcrops where the specimens of Cyphaspides described were collected. If not all, of these beds were deposited below fair-weather wave base but that some of them were disturbed by occasional storm events (i.e., above storm wave base) This is fairly typical of the Early and Middle Devonian strata in this region of Morocco that contain abundant articulated trilobite carapaces (see Chatterton et al, 2006; Brett et al, 2012).
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