trilobite nut Posted September 8, 2014 Share Posted September 8, 2014 If that diagram is accurate, then it is contradicting the belief that pretty much every trilobite you find is just a shed. Granted, at Penn Dixie, lots of partials are found, but the huge number of complete ones is pretty amazing. So, am I correct to believe then, that any complete eldregeops was a live animal when buried? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
piranha Posted September 8, 2014 Share Posted September 8, 2014 ...If that diagram is accurate, then it is contradicting the belief that pretty much every trilobite you find is just a shed... The notion that most trilobite fossils are molted remains is wholly inaccurate. Whether they are molts or not is simply luck of the draw, some formations yield mostly complete trilobites while others don't. Check all the popular books, there are numerous examples of complete trilobites that were fossilized as complete animals. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brewcuse Posted September 8, 2014 Share Posted September 8, 2014 The notion that most trilobite fossils are molted remains is wholly inaccurate. Is it safe to say that whole body fossils were live (or freshly dead) at the depositional event and that partials are likely molts, with the chance that a dead trilobite somehow ended up in pieces when buried? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shamalama Posted September 8, 2014 Share Posted September 8, 2014 (edited) Of course there is also a theory by Rustan et. al. that they proposed in 2011 and was put into video form (process starts about 30 sec. into video):https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=we0-KTi4KsEInfaunal molting in Trilobita and escalatory responses against predation, Juan J. Rustán, Diego Balseiro, Beatriz Waisfeld, Rodolfo D. Foglia and N. Emilio VaccariGeology, v. 39 no. 5 p. 495-498 But I like the theory by Speyer better. Edited September 8, 2014 by Shamalama -Dave __________________________________________________ Geologists on the whole are inconsistent drivers. When a roadcut presents itself, they tend to lurch and weave. To them, the roadcut is a portal, a fragment of a regional story, a proscenium arch that leads their imaginations into the earth and through the surrounding terrain. - John McPheeIf I'm going to drive safely, I can't do geology. - John McPheeCheck out my Blog for more fossils I've found: http://viewsofthemahantango.blogspot.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gcaruso Posted September 8, 2014 Author Share Posted September 8, 2014 Cool video! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
piranha Posted September 8, 2014 Share Posted September 8, 2014 On 9/8/2014 at 4:58 AM, Shamalama said: Of course there is also a theory by Rustan et. al. that they proposed in 2011 and was put into video form (process starts about 30 sec. into video): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=we0-KTi4KsE Infaunal molting in Trilobita and escalatory responses against predation, Juan J. Rustán, Diego Balseiro, Beatriz Waisfeld, Rodolfo D. Foglia and N. Emilio Vaccari Geology, v. 39 no. 5 p. 495-498 But I like the theory by Speyer better. The good news is you don't have to choose, infaunal molting was not suggested as a counter argument to Speyer. Instead it's just as the title suggests; a different exuviation strategy than the traditional Salterian method used by phacopids. The attached figures demonstrate how the molted cephalon interacted with the sediment during this process. It's really a remarkably clever strategy considering the obvious vulnerability of a freshly molted 'soft-shelled' trilobite. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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