''Fritzolenellus'' is an

extinct Extinction is the termination of a kind of organism or of a group of kinds (taxon), usually a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and ...

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

from a well-known class of

fossil A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved ...

marine

arthropod Arthropods (, (gen. ποδός)) are invertebrate animals with an exoskeleton, a Segmentation (biology), segmented body, and paired jointed appendages. Arthropods form the phylum Arthropoda. They are distinguished by their jointed limbs and Arth ...

s, the

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 ...

s, with three known species. It lived during the early part of the Botomian stage, which lasted from approximately 524 to 518.5 million years ago. This faunal stage was part of the

Cambrian Period The Cambrian Period ( ; sometimes symbolized C with bar, Ꞓ) was the first geological period of the Paleozoic Era, and of the Phanerozoic Eon. The Cambrian lasted 53.4 million years from the end of the preceding Ediacaran Period 538.8 million ...

. ''Fritzolenellus'' occurred in parts of the

paleocontinent A paleocontinent or palaeocontinent is a distinct area of continental crust that existed as a major landmass in the geological past. There have been many different landmasses throughout Earth's time. They range in sizes, some are just a collection ...

Laurentia Laurentia or the North American Craton is a large continental craton that forms the ancient geological core of North America. Many times in its past, Laurentia has been a separate continent, as it is now in the form of North America, although ...

in what are now Northwestern Canada, Northwestern Scotland, and North-Greenland.

Taxonomy

''Fritzolenellus'' is the genus closest to the common ancestor of ''Mummaspis'', ''Laudonia'', the

Biceratopsinae The Biceratopsinae is an extinct subfamily of redlichiid trilobites within the family Biceratopsidae, with species of small to average size. Species belonging to this subfamily lived during the Toyonian stage (Upper ''Olenellus''-zone), 516-513 ...

and the

Bristoliinae The Bristoliinae is an extinct subfamily of trilobites, fossil marine arthropods, with species of small to average size. Species belonging to this subfamily lived during the Botomian and Toyonian stage (''Olenellus''-zone), 522-513 million years ...

. This

clade A clade (), also known as a monophyletic group or natural group, is a group of organisms that are monophyletic – that is, composed of a common ancestor and all its lineal descendants – on a phylogenetic tree. Rather than the English term, ...

is the sister group '' Wanneria walcottana'' and of the

Holmiidae Holmiidae is a family of trilobites, that lived during the Lower Cambrian (Atdabanian). The Holmiidae is a diverse family of eight genera containing at least 17 species. It includes some of the earliest trilobites of Baltica. Holmiidae occur thro ...

Etymology

The generic name is a combination of the genus ''

Olenellus ''Olenellus'' is an extinct genus of redlichiid trilobites, with species of average size (about long). It lived during the Botomian and Toyonian stages (''Olenellus''-zone), , in what is currently North-America, part of the palaeocontinent Lau ...

'', to which these species were originally assigned, and a reference to William Henry Fritz (1928-2009), a paleontologist who worked on olenelloid trilobites. The species names have the following derivation. *''lapworthi'' is named in honor of

Charles Lapworth Charles Lapworth FRS FGS (20 September 1842 – 13 March 1920) was a headteacher and an English geologist who pioneered faunal analysis using index fossils and identified the Ordovician period. Biography Charles Lapworth was born at Faring ...

, an English geologist who pioneered faunal analysis using

index fossils Biostratigraphy is the branch of stratigraphy which focuses on correlating and assigning relative ages of rock strata by using the fossil assemblages contained within them.Hine, Robert. “Biostratigraphy.” ''Oxford Reference: Dictionary of Bi ...

and who defined the

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 ...

. *''reticulatus'' (Latin) refers to the coarsely netted exoskeleton.

Distribution

* ''F. truemani'' was collected in the Lower Cambrian ( lower ''Olenellus''-zone) of Alberta, Canada (Mural Formation, in the talus slope immediately west of Mumm Peak, from the middle Mural Formation, 125 m above the base of that formation, just north of the

Mount Robson Provincial Park Mount Robson Provincial Park is a provincial park in the Canadian Rockies with an area of 2,249 km². The park is located entirely within British Columbia, bordering Jasper National Park in Alberta. The B.C. legislature created the park in 19 ...

boundary). It is also known from North-Greenland ( Henson Gletscher Formation). * ''F. lapworthi'' occurs in the Lower Cambrian (lower ''Olenellus''-zone) of Scotland (Allt nan Righrion, Meall a ‘Ghiubhais,

Loch Awe Loch Awe (Scottish Gaelic: ''Loch Obha'') is a large body of freshwater in Argyll and Bute, Scottish Highlands. It has also given its name to a village on its banks, variously known as Loch Awe or Lochawe. There are islands within the loch such ...

), and from the middle Dryeran of Northeastern Greenland (Upper Bastion Formation at Albert Heim Bjerge). * ''F. reticulatus'' is found in the Lower Cambrian (Lower ''Olenellus''-zone) of Scotland (Meall a ‘Ghiubhais, Allt nan Righrion, Loch Awe).

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q5505061 Cambrian trilobites Fossils of Canada Fossils of Great Britain Fossils of Greenland Paleontology in Alberta Olenelloidea