image credit: Fossilguy.com and the Virtual Fossil Museum
And so, my long and harsh quest to complete the Big Trilobite Triadᵀᴹ has finally come to a close with its final member rated by I, small-custard assessment.Â
We welcome Cryptolithus: first of its name, master of lace collars and long genial spines, guide for Ordovician rocks, and cutie w a six-segmented booty.Â
//not actually the booty LOL, i j used it bc it rhymed,, im sorry ahaha the actual booty would be the pygidium, but here i really mean a six-segmented thorax.
imo Cryptolithus is one of the most distinctive and beautiful trilobites, mostly because of the gorgeous frill on the edge of the cephalon (head), which is peppered with smol holes; this is where they get the nickname of "lace-collar" trilobites.Â
Adult Cryptolithus was blind, a filter feeder, and pretty small, usually less than an inch (25 mm) long awww. Most of these trilobites are found only in fragments, and full body fossils are extremely rare.
small-custard assessment: I rate the final member of the Big Trilobite Triadᵀᴹ a poppin 9.5/10.
