Monday, July 11, 2011

Elrathia.

Elrathia was a trilobite from Middle Cambrian Lagerstätten. Elrathia was either one of the most common trilobites or the most common trilobite. Unlike its relatives Cryptolithus, Lonchodomas, and Radiaspis, Elrathia was very plain. Elrathia was probably the perfect prey for anomalocarids like Anomalocaris, Amplectabelua, and Hurdia. This image shows two fossils of Elrathia.




Elrathia was small and lived at the bottom of the sea, unlike its relative Carolinites which swam upside down near the surface. It was near the bottom of the food chain, because it was small and easy to catch. Elrathia lived in the exaerobic zone, where oxygen levels were so low that it would hurt most organisms.

Elrathia was defenseless, so it had to be as quick as possible. But even that would not help it escape anomalocarids, because anomalocarids were much faster and much more powerful than trilobites.



2 comments:

  1. Thanks for the post! Interesting stuff! Keep it up!

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  2. I do think Elrathia is weird.

    If I can find enough information about it, I'll post Selenopeltis tomorrow. It's another trilobite that's shaped like a rectangle with spines on the side, with the tips pointing towards the back.

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