Zacanthoides is an extinct Cambrian genus of corynexochid trilobite. It was a nektobenthic predatory carnivore. Its remains have been found in Canada (British Columbia, especially in the Burgess Shale, and Newfoundland), Greenland, Mexico, and the United States (Alaska, Nevada, Utah, Vermont, and Idaho for which Z. idahoensis is named)."Zacanthoides" Paleobiology Database, accessed March 28, 2011 Its major characteristics are a slender exoskeleton with 9 thoracic segments, pleurae with long spines, additional spines on the axial rings, and a pygidium that is considerably smaller than its cephalon.Coppold, Murray and Wayne Powell (2006). A Geoscience Guide to the Burgess Shale, p.58. The Burgess Shale Geoscience Foundation, Field, British Columbia. .
Species Zacanthoides idahoensis Zacanthoides kelsayae Zacanthoides romingeri (type species) Zacanthoides holopygus (unrecognized) Zacanthoides gilberti (unrecognized)
Synonyms Embolimus is a synonym.Jell, P.A. & J.M. Adrain 2003. Memoirs of the Queensland Museum 48(2): 331-553. [see also Alphabetical Listing of Trilobite Generic NamesSepkoski, J.J. Jr. 2002. A compendium of fossil marine animal genera. D.J. Jablonski & M.L. Foote (eds.). Bulletins of American Paleontology 363: 1–560. Sepkoski's Online Genus Database
References
External links