MORPHOLOGY AND ONTOGENY OF AN EARLY DEVONIAN PHACOPID TRILOBITE WITH REDUCED SIGHT FROM SOUTHERN THAILAND

Abstract

Exuviae comprising immature growth stages allow the tracing of morphological and morphogenetical features of the reduced-eyed phacopid species Plagiolaria poothaii Kobayashi and Hamada, 1968, from the Early Devonian of Satun Province, southern Thailand. Biometric and morphometric approaches have been used to characterize the shape changes. This is the fourth phacopid genus for which ontogenetic information is known. Ontogenetic features of this species are generally similar to those of Phacops and Weyerites. However, the ankylosis of the facial sutures occurs at the end of the meraspid period, later than in Phacops, and this is probably a derived character.