''Bulbaspis'' ("bulb shield") is a late Ordovician genus of asaphid trilobites of the family Raphiophoridae found primarily in upper Ordovician-aged deepwater marine strata of Kazakhstan,

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

, and possibly Tasmania. Species of ''Bulbaspis'' are similar to other raphiophorids such as ''

Ampyx In Greek mythology, Ampyx (Ancient Greek: Ἄμπυξ) or Ampycus (Ἄμπυκος ''Ampykos'' means 'woman's diadem, frontlet') was the name of the following figures: * Ampyx, also called Ampycus or AmpyceHesiod, ''Shield of Heracles'' 180 was a ...

'' and '' Raphiophorus'', save that the long spine that emanates from the glabella of the latter two genera has been modified into a knob-like or bulb-like structure in ''Bulbaspis'' that developed incrementally in the animal's growth.Zhiqiang, Zhou, and Zhou Zhiyi. "Late Ordovician trilobites from the Zhusilenghaierhan area, Ejin Banner, western Inner Mongolia, China."MEMOIR-ASSOCIATION OF AUSTRALASIAN PALAEONTOLOGISTS 32 (2006): 383. The function of the bulb is currently unknown: one hypothesis suggests sexual selection may have had a role in its evolution in the genus.Knell, Robert J., and Richard A. Fortey. "Trilobite spines and beetle horns: sexual selection in the Palaeozoic?." Biology letters 1.2 (2005): 196-199

/ref> Bulbaspis_brevis

Species

* ''ovulum'' group ** ''B. lageniformis'' Zhou et al. 1982 ** ''B. ovulum'' Weber 1948 ** ''B. ordosensis'' Lu et al. 1976 * ''bulbifer'' group ** ''B. brevis'' Zhou & Zhou, 2006 ** ''B. bulbifer'' (Weber, 1932) ** ''B. korlaensis'' Zhang, 1981 ** ''B. mirabilis'' Chugaeva, 1958 ** ''B. sphaerornatus'' Chugaeva, 1958

References

Raphiophoridae Asaphida genera Ordovician trilobites of Asia Late Ordovician first appearances Late Ordovician extinctions {{silurian-animal-stub

Species

See also

References