Encrinuridae is a

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

trilobite Trilobites (; meaning "three lobes") are extinct marine arthropods that form the class Trilobita. Trilobites form one of the earliest-known groups of arthropods. The first appearance of trilobites in the fossil record defines the base of the At ...

within the order

Phacopida Phacopida ("lens-face") is an order of trilobites that lived from the Late Cambrian to the Late Devonian. It is made up of a morphologically diverse assemblage of taxa in three related suborders. Characteristics Phacopida had 8 to 19 thorac ...

that lived in what would be

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

, and

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...

from the middle

Ordovician The Ordovician ( ) is a geologic period and System (geology), system, the second of six periods of the Paleozoic Era (geology), Era. The Ordovician spans 41.6 million years from the end of the Cambrian Period million years ago (Mya) to the start ...

to the early

Devonian The Devonian ( ) is a geologic period and system of the Paleozoic era, spanning 60.3 million years from the end of the Silurian, million years ago (Mya), to the beginning of the Carboniferous, Mya. It is named after Devon, England, whe ...

from , existing for approximately .

Taxonomy

Encrinuridae was named by Angelin (1854). It was assigned to

Gregory Edgecombe Gregory Donald Edgecombe is a merit researcher in the department of Earth Sciences at the Natural History Museum, London. He is a leading figure in understanding the evolution of arthropods, their position in animal evolution and the integrati ...

(1994). It contains the following genera: *'' Aegrotocatellus'' *'' Alwynulus'' *'' Atractocybeloides'' *'' Atractopyge'' *'' Avalanchurus'' *''

Balizoma ''Balizoma'' is a genus of trilobites from the family Encrinuridae established by David J. Holloway in 1980. It has only been found in rocks of Silurian age. Its type species, ''B. variolaris'' (Brongniart, 1822), is currently the only named sp ...

'' *'' Batocara'' *'' Bevanopsis'' *'' Billevittia'' *'' Brianurus'' *'' Celtencrinurus'' *'' Coronaspis'' *'' Coronocephalus'' *'' Cromus'' *'' Curriella'' *''

Cybele Cybele ( ; Phrygian: ''Matar Kubileya/Kubeleya'' "Kubileya/Kubeleya Mother", perhaps "Mountain Mother"; Lydian ''Kuvava''; el, Κυβέλη ''Kybele'', ''Kybebe'', ''Kybelis'') is an Anatolian mother goddess; she may have a possible forer ...

'' *'' Cybeloides'' *'' Cybelurus'' *'' Dayongia'' *'' Deacybele'' *'' Dindymene'' *'' Distyrax'' *'' Dnestrovites'' *'' Elsarella'' *'' Encrinuroides'' *''

Encrinurus ''Encrinurus'' is a long-lived genus of phacopid trilobites that lived in what are now Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, North America, and South America from the middle Ordovician to the early Devonian from 472 to 412.3 mya, existing for appr ...

'' *'' Eodindymene'' *'' Erratencrinurus'' *'' Fragiscutum'' *'' Frammia'' *'' Frencrinuroides'' *'' Johntempleia'' *'' Kailia'' *'' Koksorenus'' *'' Langgonia'' *'' Lasaguaditas'' *'' Libertella'' *'' Lyrapyge'' *'' Mackenziurus'' *'' Mitchellaspis'' *'' Nucleurus'' *'' Oedicybele'' *'' Paracybeloides'' *'' Paraencrinurus'' *'' Parakailia'' *'' Perirehaedulus'' *'' Perryus'' *'' Physemataspis'' *'' Plasiaspis'' *'' Prophysemataspis'' *'' Prostrix'' *'' Rielaspis'' *'' Rongxiella'' *'' Sinocybele'' *'' Staurocephalus'' *'' Stiktocybele'' *'' Struszia'' *'' Tewonia'' *'' Walencrinuroides'' *'' Wallacia''

Fossil distribution

Fossils were found in strata dating from the

Arenig In geology, the Arenig (or Arenigian) is a time interval during the Ordovician period and also the suite of rocks which were deposited during this interval. History The term was first used by Adam Sedgwick in 1847 with reference to the "Areni ...

Lochkovian The Lochkovian is one of three faunal stages in the Early Devonian Epoch. It lasted from 419.2 ± 3.2 million years ago to 410.8 ± 2.8 million years ago. It marked the beginning of the Devonian Period, and was followed by the Pragian Stage. It i ...

ages. Locations were varied and stretched from Florentine Valley,

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

Xinjiang Province Xinjiang Province is a historical administrative area of Northwest China, between 1884 and 1955. Periods during which various boundaries of Xinjiang Province have been defined include: * Xinjiang Province (Qing) (1884–1912). * Xinjiang Provin ...

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 ...

Will County, Illinois Will County is a county in the northeastern part of the state of Illinois. According to the 2020 census, it had a population of 696,355, an increase of 2.8% from 677,560 in 2010, making it Illinois's fourth-most populous county. The county seat ...

Sources

* ''Fossils'' (Smithsonian Handbooks) by David Ward * ''Trilobites'' by Riccardo Levi-Setti * ''Invertebrate Palaeontology and Evolution'' by E.N.K. Clarkson * ''Trilobites: Common Trilobites of North America'' (A NatureGuide book) by Jasper Burns

External links

''Encrinurus''
in the

Paleobiology Database The Paleobiology Database is an online resource for information on the distribution and classification of fossil animals, plants, and microorganisms. History The Paleobiology Database (PBDB) originated in the NCEAS-funded Phanerozoic Marine Pale ...

Trilobite families Ordovician trilobites Silurian trilobites Devonian trilobites Trilobites of Africa Trilobites of Oceania Trilobites of Europe Middle Ordovician first appearances Early Devonian extinctions Trilobites of North America Trilobites of South America {{phacopida-stub