Meadowtownella is a genus of odontopleurid trilobite that lived during the Ordovician period in a wide range being found in the United States, Canada, Sweden, Norway, Scotland, Wales, England, Latvia and Portugal.Conway, Tim & Botting, Joseph. (2012). Description and ecology of a new Middle Ordovician (Llanvirn) odontopleurid trilobite from the Builth Inlier of Mid-Wales, with a review of the genus Meadowtownella. Geological Magazine. 149. 10.1017/S0016756811000707.
Taxonomy This genus was described in 1965 by Pribyl and Vanek. The genus currently contains around 20 described species. They are listed below: SpeciesAuthorityOccurrenceAgeRefsM. ascitusWhittington, 1956United StatesCaradoc (Sandbian)M. bestorpensisBruton (1966)SwedenCaradoc—Ashgill (Katian)M. bucculentaMcNamara (1979)England, NorwayAshgill (Katian)M. caractaciSalter (1853), Dean (1963)England, IrelandLate Caradoc (Katian)M. crosotusLocke (1843)United StatesLate Caradoc (Katian)M. evolutaTörnquist (1884), Bruton (1966)Sweden, Norway, Wales, England, LatviaAshgill (Katian) M. girvanesisReed (1914)ScotlandAshgill (Katian–Hirnatian) M. harnagensisBancroft (1949), Dean (1963)EnglandEarly Caradoc (Sandbian)M. horaniBillings (1863) ?Early Caradoc (Sandbian) M. llandowrensisPrice (1980)Southern WalesAshgill (Katian)M. mendicaSiveter (1989)IrelandSilurian (Wenlock)M. multispinosaBruton (1965), Hansen (2009)NorwayLate Llanvirn (Darriwilian)M. rorringtonensisWhittard (1961) Shelve Inlier, WalesCaradoc (Katian) M. sacerdosLespérance (1998)QuebecLate Ashgill (Katian–Hirnantian)M. semievolutaReed (1910), Dean (1962)EnglandCaradoc (Sandbian)M. serrataConway & Botting, 2011Mid-WalesMiddle Ordovician (Llanvirn)M. simulatrixWhittard (1961) Shelve Inlier, WalesLate Llanvirn (Darriwilian)M. trentonensisHall (1847), Brett et al. (1999)United StatesLate Caradoc (Katian)M. whiteiWhittard (1961)Shelve Inlier, WalesLate Llanvirn (Darriwilian) M. yunnanensisWei, X., Zhan, R., Yan, G., Zhang, X., & Wang, G., 2025South ChinaEnd-OrdovicianWei, X., Zhan, R., Yan, G., Zhang, X., & Wang, G. (2025). The earliest known recovery trilobite faunas following the Late Ordovician mass extinction (LOME) in South China and their ecological distribution. Journal of Systematic Palaeontology, 23(1). https://doi.org/10.1080/14772019.2025.2461362
Distribution Some species have been found in Gilwern Hill in Wales, but tend only to be found in the lower portions of the Kope Formation in Ohio. They can also found in Trenton Group rock units in New York State, Ontario and Quebec. South China during the during the recovery from the Late Ordovician mass extinction was host to many endemic species and genera of trilobites such as Meadowtownella yunnanensis.
Description It is similar to Acidaspis cincinnatiensis but without the occipital spine.
References
External links Image of Meadowtownella on Flickr