Vincular furrows in some Early Silurian and Devonian Phacopidae (Trilobita), predominantly from North America

Abstract

The vincular furrow morphology of 19 species of Phacopidae is critically examined. The anterior part of the vincular furrow is much less variable than the posterior part of the vincular furrow, but it can be absent, shallow, deep, or have a slightly ventrally elongated boss. The posterior part of the vincular furrow can have pleurovincular pits (for reception of the thoracic pleural tip processes) or indentations for these processes, plus bounding walls that are variably indented laterally and very variable in vertical elongation. The functional morphology of the various elements of the vincular furrow is best explained by a paradigm of resistance to lateral shearing.All elements of the vincular furrow in Devonian taxa had already appeared in the Early Silurian, but Early Silurian taxa are richer in diversity of elements. Some Devonian subspecies, essentially based on dorsal morphologies, show distinctly different vincular furrows. Cluster analysis of the data gathered on the vincular furrow complexes regroups the distinctly different Devonian subspecies and some Silurian subgenera. Other vincular furrows within the Phacopidae suggest that Reedops is near the Phacops logani complex and that the Phacopidellinae is a valid subfamily, but formal emendations within the family are not suggested because of incomplete data, notably on our knowledge of the distribution of vincular furrows. The use of the widely conceived genus Phacops Emmrich, 1839, over more recently described taxa such as Paciphacops Maximova, 1972, is presently favored, as this reflects more clearly current understanding of the systematics within the family Phacopidae.Primary types of the North American taxa Phacops cristata, P. cristata gaspensis, and Acernaspis (Acernaspis) orestes are critically reviewed; significant changes of previous interpretations are suggested. Phacops cristata vitrea n. subsp. is erected. Thoracic pleural tip processes and anterolateral ventral pygidial processes are described in detail within Phacops rana rana and Acernaspis (Acernaspis) orestes. A pathological specimen of Phacops rana rana, with an injured eye, demonstrates that the individual did not revert to a primitive type of lens packing.