''Zeliszkella'' is a genus of

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 ...

in 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 thoraci ...

, with species of average size. Species are known from the Middle and Upper Ordovician and have been found in the Czech Republic, France, Morocco, Portugal and Spain. The cephalon has a rather narrow frontal area, and the anterior sections of the facial sutures run close to frontal lobe anteriorly. The large mosaic ( schizochroal) eyes reach far backward. The main body (or

thorax The thorax or chest is a part of the anatomy of humans, mammals, and other tetrapod animals located between the neck and the abdomen. In insects, crustaceans, and the extinct trilobites, the thorax is one of the three main divisions of the cre ...

) is composed of eleven segments. The side lobes (pleurae) of the thorax curve stronger backward closer to the tail shield (or

pygidium The pygidium (plural pygidia) is the posterior body part or shield of crustaceans and some other arthropods, such as insects and the extinct trilobites. In groups other than insects, it contains the anus and, in females, the ovipositor. It is compo ...

), their pointed tips longer than those of anterior pleurae. The pygidium is elongate subtriangular with the axis narrowly triangular reaching the back of the pygidium and consisting of about 10 rings. The pleural fields have 3 or 4 ribs.

Taxonomy

Reassigned species

Some species formerly included in ''Zeliszkella'' have now been reassigned to other genera. * ''Z. neltneri'' = '' Phacopidina neltneri'' * ''Z. zguidensis'' = '' Morgatia zguidensis''

References

Dalmanitidae Ordovician trilobites of Europe Fossils of the Czech Republic Letná Formation Ordovician trilobites of Africa Katian Sandbian Darriwilian first appearances Late Ordovician extinctions {{phacopida-stub