Oryctocephalus
genus of trilobites (fossil)
Oryctocephalus is a genus of trilobites known from the Middle Cambrian Burgess Shale. 24 specimens of Oryctocephalus are known from the Greater Phyllopod bed, where they comprise 0.42% of the community. This small- to medium-sized trilobite's major characteristics are prominent eye ridges, pleural spines, long genal spines, spines on the pygidium, and notably four furrows connecting pairs of pits on its glabella. Juvenile specimens have been found with only 5 or 6 thoracic segments and about one eighth of adult size, as well as about 2 mm wide.
References
External links
"Oryctocephalus reynoldsi". Burgess Shale Fossil Gallery. Virtual Museum of Canada. 2011. Archived from the original on 2020-11-12. Retrieved 2023-01-21.
The public source identifies “Oryctocephalus” as genus of trilobites (fossil). This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Oryctocephalus, genus and trilobites.
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A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Oryctocephalus”, the useful work is to connect “genus of trilobites (fossil)” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.
Stable identifiers, scientific names and standards terminology offer the best bridge between this overview and specialist evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jan 24, 2025. The linked authority identifier is Q7105304. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 2011, 2020 and 2023.
Current terminology should not be projected backward without checking the classification used when the underlying evidence was created. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
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This entry incorporates text from “Oryctocephalus” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.