The Olenelloidea are a superfamily of

trilobites 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 ...

, a group of extinct marine arthropods. They lived during the late

Lower Cambrian The Cambrian Period ( ; sometimes symbolized 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 years ago ( ...

and species occurred on all

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 ...

Taxonomy

Palmer and Repina assigned '' Gabriellus'' and ''

Callavia ''Callavia'' is an extinct, monotypic genus of trilobite arthropods. ''C. broegeri'' lived during the late Atdabanian stage, which lasted from 530 to 524 million years ago during the early part of the Cambrian Period in what are today Canada and ...

'' to the Olenelloidea, but the ocular lobes in these two genera circumscribe the entire lateral border of the frontal lobe of the glabella, and thus, do not belong to this superfamily, but to the Judomioidea. Geyer assigned '' Cambropallas'' to the Olenelloidea, but it lacks the diagnostic features and appears to be closely related to '' Andalusiana'', and is now considered to be an advanced member of the Nevadioidea.

Distribution

In western Laurentia Fallotaspididae and Archaeaspididae proceed the first Olenelloidea. The Holmiidae occur at the late Atdabanian, and are contemporary with the Nevadioidea. They are followed by Biceratopsidae and Olenellidae.

Description

As with most early trilobites, the Olenelloidea have an almost flat exoskeleton, that is only thinly calcified, and has crescent-shaped eye ridges. As part of the Olenellina suborder, the Olenelloidea lack dorsal sutures. The superfamily can be distinguished from all other

Olenellina Olenellina is a suborder of the order Redlichiida of trilobites that occurs about halfway during the Lower Cambrian, at the start of the stage called the Atdabanian. The earliest trilobites in the fossil record are arguably Olenellina, although ...

by features of the cephalon and in particular the

glabella The glabella, in humans, is the area of skin between the eyebrows and above the nose. The term also refers to the underlying bone that is slightly depressed, and joins the two brow ridges. It is a cephalometric landmark that is just superior to ...

. The backward portion of the third lateral lobe of the glabella counted from the back (L3) bulges laterally relative to the first lateral lobe (L1). The front end of the eye lobe (or ocular lobe) is connected only to the back half of the frontal lobe (AL or L4) of the glabella, and merges smoothly with it (rather than merely contacting it). The ocular lobe consists of an inner and outer band.

References

Olenellina Cambrian trilobites Cambrian first appearances Cambrian Series 2 extinctions Arthropod superfamilies {{Redlichiida-stub