''Carolinites'' 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 ...

, assigned to the

Telephinidae Telephinidae is a family of pelagic trilobites with large wide-angle eyes, occupying most of the free cheeks, downward directed facial spines and 9-10 thorax segments. The family is known during the entire Ordovician and occurred in deep water ar ...

family, that occurs during the Lower and Middle

Ordovician The Ordovician ( ) is a geologic period and system, the second of six periods of the Paleozoic Era. The Ordovician spans 41.6 million years from the end of the Cambrian Period million years ago (Mya) to the start of the Silurian Period Mya. T ...

. ''Carolinites'' had a

pantropical A pantropical ("all tropics") distribution is one which covers tropical regions of both hemispheres. Examples of species include caecilians, modern sirenians and the plant genera ''Acacia'' and ''Bacopa''. ''Neotropical'' is a zoogeographic term ...

distribution, and there is evidence that it lived in upper parts of the water column. The free cheeks of ''Carolinites'' are largely covered by its huge eyes, except for the attachment of large genal spines that extend downward, backward and lateral and gradually curving further backward. The

glabella The glabella, in humans, is the area of skin between the eyebrows and above the nose. The term also refers to the underlying bone that is slightly depressed, and joins the two brow ridges. It is a cephalometric landmark that is just superior to ...

is slightly bulbous, the occipital ring is well defined, but further transglabellar furrows are lacking. The

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 ...

has 10 segments. The axis of the pygidium is highly vaulted, with a curved spine emerging almost perpendicular to the midline and ending parallel to it and a node on each of the other three segments.Whittington, H. B. et al. (1997) Treatise on Invertebrate Paleontology. Part O, Revised, Volume 1 – Trilobita – Introduction, Order Agnostida, Order Redlichiida. ''Carolinites'' is known from what are today Australia (Tasmania), Canada (Alberta), China, France, Spitsbergen, and the United States (Utah).

Etymology

''Carolinites'' has been named after Caroline Creek in Tasmania, the type locality of ''C. bulbosa''.

Species

* ''C. bulbosa'' Kobayashi, 1940 ( type) * ''C. genacinaca'' Ross, 1951 ** ''C. genacinaca genacinaca'' ** ''C. genacinaca nevadensis'' Hintze, 1953 * ''C. killaryensis'' Stubblefield, 1950 synonym ''Dimastocephalus killaryensis'' * ''C. sibericus'' Chugaeva, 1964 synonym ''C. angustagena''

Distribution

* ''C. genacinaca'' occurs in the Ordovician of the United States (Utah, Nevada), East Greenland, East Siberia, Novaya Zemlya, Arctic Canada and Svalbard. * ''C. killaryensis'' was found in the Ordovician of Western Ireland, Svalbard and the Western United States (Basin Ranges). * ''C. sibericus'' has been recorded from the Ordovician of Western Ireland, Siberia, Svalbard and the Western United States.

References

Proetida genera Fossils of Canada Fossils of China Fossils of France Fossils of Svalbard Fossils of the United States Ordovician trilobites of Asia Ordovician trilobites of Europe Ordovician trilobites of Australia Ordovician trilobites of North America Early Ordovician first appearances Middle Ordovician extinctions Paleozoic life of Alberta Paleozoic life of Newfoundland and Labrador Paleozoic life of the Northwest Territories Pantropical fauna {{Proetida-stub