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NocturnalSea — Cryptolithus tesselatus
Published: 2010-12-20 21:26:44 +0000 UTC; Views: 1876; Favourites: 31; Downloads: 28
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Description
A piece I submitted a while ago to the Trilobite gallery at the ArtEvolved Paleoart blog. Cryptolithus is believed to have been a filter-feeding trilobite that used long, feathery gills on its thorax to sweep food into its massive cephalic chamber for consumption. The long prongs on the sides of the cephalon were probably used to stabilize the animal on the seafloor. Those little things covering its carapace are epibionts like barnacles, hydras and brachiopods-- commensal freeloaders stealing an easy meal from the current of water brought in by Cryptolithus.Related content
Comments: 8
Thanks! Yeah, I'm a huge fan of both categories. Putting them together just seemed like the right thing to do.
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I really like that you've added epibionts to the trilobite's carapace. I recently submitted something which turned that idea around a bit, with speculative trilobites acting as the freeloaders instead: [link]
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Filter-feeding trilobite? it's something totally new to me!
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Sam Gon's Guide to the Orders of Trilobites talks about them, and other trilobite feeding methods (including trilobites that may have used sulfur-eating bacteria symbiotically living in their gills as a food source). It's a pretty cool site: [link]
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cool indeed, added to favorites
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