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Walliserops trifurcates was a phacopid trilobite found from Devonian Morocco. It is famous for the three-pronged "trident" that arises from the glabellum. When the first specimens were first discovered, they were originally placed within the genus "Parabolops," ("Parabola Face") with those specimens with long tridents being placed within "P. neptunis," and those with short tridents being placed within "P. hammi." Now, though, both forms are regarded as the same species, with the length of the trident being a form of sexual dimorphism, in that the longer trident-wielders are suspected to be males who used their tridents in jousting.
[edit] External Links
- Fossil Mall entry about W. trifurcates [1]
[edit] References
