Asaphidae is a

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

of asaphid

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 ...

s. Although the first genera originate in Upper Cambrian marine strata, the family becomes the most widely distributed and most species-rich trilobite family during the Ordovician. 754 species assigned to 146 genera are included in Asaphidae.

Distribution

Most Asaphinae are characteristic of

Baltica Baltica is a paleocontinent that formed in the Paleoproterozoic and now constitutes northwestern Eurasia, or Europe north of the Trans-European Suture Zone and west of the Ural Mountains. The thick core of Baltica, the East European Craton, is ...

. Isotelinae genera are concentrated in

Laurentia Laurentia or the North American Craton is a large continental craton that forms the ancient geological core of North America. Many times in its past, Laurentia has been a separate continent, as it is now in the form of North America, althoug ...

. The genera of Nobiliasaphinae are distributed in tropical

Gondwana Gondwana () was a large landmass, often referred to as a supercontinent, that formed during the late Neoproterozoic (about 550 million years ago) and began to break up during the Jurassic period (about 180 million years ago). The final st ...

and South China. The genera of Ogygiocaridinae occur in

Avalonia Avalonia was a microcontinent in the Paleozoic era. Crustal fragments of this former microcontinent underlie south-west Great Britain, southern Ireland, and the eastern coast of North America. It is the source of many of the older rocks of We ...

, Gondwana and Baltica. Asaphidae asaphids were already fairly common during the Upper-Cambrian, when 14 genera are known from Australia, North- and South-China. The last members of the family died-out at the end of the Ordovician.

Assigned genera

Asaphidae contains the following genera: *'' Anataphrus'' *'' Araiocaris'' *'' Asaphellus'' *'' Asaphus'' *'' Atopasaphus'' *'' Aulacoparia'' *'' Aulacoparina'' *'' Australopyge'' *'' Baltiites'' *'' Banqiaoites'' *'' Basilicus'' *'' Bellefontia'' *'' Birmanitella'' *'' Birmanites'' *'' Bohemopyge'' *'' Borogothus'' *'' Brachyaspis'' *'' Branisaspis'' *'' Burminresia'' *'' Charabaia'' *'' Chengkouella'' *'' Dubovikites'' *'' Ectenaspis'' *'' Ekeraspis'' *'' Emanuelaspis'' *''

Emanuelina Emanuelina is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Czarnożyły, within Wieluń County, Łódź Voivodeship, in central Poland. It lies approximately north of Czarnożyły, north of Wieluń, and south-west of the regional capital ...

'' *'' Eoasaphus'' *'' Eoisotelus'' *'' Erdelia'' *'' Estoniites'' *'' Fuyunia'' *'' Gerasaphes'' *''

Gog Gog may refer to: Religion * Gog and Magog, entities from various religious texts People * Anikó Góg, Hungarian triathlete * GOG or Genival Oliveira Gonçalves (born 1965), Brazilian rapper * Gog, a slang term for a person from North Wales ...

'' *'' Gogiura'' *'' Golasaphus'' *'' Griphasaphus'' *'' Guohongjunia'' *'' Hazarania'' *'' Heraspis'' *''

Hoekaspis ''Hoekaspis'' is an extinct genus of trilobites from the family Asaphidae.''Hoe ...

'' *'' Homalopyge'' *'' Hunjiangites'' *'' Hunnebergia'' *'' Huochengia'' *'' Iduia'' *'' Isabelinia'' *'' Isotella'' *'' Isoteloides'' *'' Isotelus'' *'' Isyrakella'' *'' Isyrakopeltis'' *'' Kainisiliellina'' *'' Kayseraspis'' *'' Klabavia'' *'' Kobayashia'' *'' Lachnostoma'' *'' Lamanskytes'' *'' Lapidaria'' *'' Leningradites'' *'' Liomegalaspides'' *'' Lisogorites'' *'' Liushuicephalus'' *'' Lonchobasilicus'' *''

Lycophron Lycophron (; grc-gre, Λυκόφρων ὁ Χαλκιδεύς; born about 330–325 BC) was a Hellenistic Greek tragic poet, grammarian, sophist, and commentator on comedy, to whom the poem ''Alexandra'' is attributed (perhaps falsely). Life and ...

'' *''

Megalaspidella ''Megalaspidella'' is an extinct Extinction is the termination of a kind of organism or of a group of kinds (taxon), usually a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, ...

'' *''

Megalaspides ''Megalaspides'' is an extinct Extinction is the termination of a kind of organism or of a group of kinds (taxon), usually a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, a ...

'' *'' Megasaphus'' *'' Megatemnoura'' *'' Megistaspidella'' *''

Megistaspis ''Megistaspis'' is a genus of trilobites in the order Asaphida and family '' Asaphidae''. They lived in the Ordovician period (478-449 million years ago), from the Upper Tremadocian age until the Lower Llanvim age. These arthropods were a low ...

'' *''

Merlinia ''Merlinia'' is an extinct genus from a well-known class of fossil marine arthropods, the trilobites. It lived during the early part of the Arenig stage of the Ordovician Period, a faunal stage which lasted from approximately 478 to 471 mi ...

'' *'' Metaptychopyge'' *'' Metayuepingia'' *'' Mioptychopyge'' *'' Mischynogorites'' *'' Nahannia'' *'' Neopeltis'' *'' Nerudaspis'' *'' Nileoides'' *'' Ningkianites'' *''

Niobe In Greek mythology, Niobe (; grc-gre, Νιόβη ) was a daughter of Tantalus and of either Dione, the most frequently cited, or of Eurythemista or Euryanassa, the wife of Amphion and the sister of Pelops and Broteas. Her father was the ...

'' *'' Niobella'' *''

Niobides In Greek mythology, the Niobids were the children of Amphion of Thebes, Greece, Thebes and Niobe, slain by Apollo and Artemis because Niobe, born of the royal house of Phrygia, had boastfully compared the greater number of her own offspring with t ...

'' *'' Niobina'' *'' Nobiliasaphus'' *'' Norasaphites'' *'' Norasaphus'' *'' Norinia'' *'' Notopeltis'' *'' Ogmasaphus'' *''

Ogyginus ''Ogyginus'' is an extinct genus of asaphid trilobites that lived during the Ordovician period. Commonly found in Wales. The type specimen was first described by Murchison in 1839 as ''Asaphus corndensis'', though the species was later reassi ...

'' *'' Ogygiocarella'' *'' Ogygiocaris'' *'' Ogygitella'' *'' Ogygites'' *'' Ogygitoides'' *'' Onchometopus'' *'' Parabellefontia'' *'' Paramegalaspis'' *'' Paramegistaspis'' *''

Paraptychopyge ''Paraptychopyge'' is an extinct Extinction is the termination of a kind of organism or of a group of kinds (taxon), usually a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, ...

'' *'' Paratamdaspis'' *'' Parayuepingia'' *'' Penchiopsis'' *'' Platyptychopyge'' *'' Plectasaphus'' *'' Plesiyuepingia'' *'' Popovkiaspis'' *'' Popovkites'' *'' Praecoparia'' *'' Presbynileus'' *''

Priceaspis ''Priceaspis'' is an extinct Extinction is the termination of a kind of organism or of a group of kinds (taxon), usually a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, alt ...

'' *'' Proasaphus'' *'' Promegalaspides'' *'' Protopresbynileus'' *'' Protoptychopyge'' *'' Proxiniobe'' *'' Pseudoasaphinus'' *'' Pseudoasaphoides'' *'' Pseudoasaphus'' *'' Pseudobasilicoides'' *'' Pseudobasilicus'' *'' Pseudobasiliella'' *'' Pseudobasiloides'' *'' Pseudogriphasaphus'' *''

Pseudogygites ''Pseudogygites'' is an extinct genus of trilobites from the Middle and Upper Ordovician. Description The pygidium and the cephalon are about equal in size and shape. The glabella is expanded forward, reaching to the anterior margin. ''Pse ...

'' *'' Pseudomegalaspis'' *'' Pseudoptychopyge'' *'' Pseudoptyocephalus'' *'' Psilocephalina'' *'' Psilocephalops'' *'' Ptychopyge'' *'' Ptyocephalus'' *'' Rhinoferus'' *'' Sanbernardaspis'' *'' Shergoldina'' *'' Stegnopsis'' *''

Stenorhachis ''Stenorhachis'' is an extinct Extinction is the termination of a kind of organism or of a group of kinds (taxon), usually a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, a ...

'' *'' Suriaspis'' *'' Tchukeraspis'' *''

Thysanopyge ''Thysanopyge'' is an extinct genus from a well-known class of fossil marine arthropods, the trilobites. It lived in what is now South America during the early part of the Arenig stage of the Ordovician Period, a faunal stage which lasted ...

'' *'' Trigonocerca'' *''

Trigonocercella ''Trigonocercella'' is an extinct Extinction is the termination of a kind of organism or of a group of kinds (taxon), usually a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species ...

'' *'' Tsaidamaspis'' *'' Valdaites'' *'' Vogdesia'' *'' Volchovites'' *'' Xenasaphus'' *'' Xenostegium'' *'' Xinanocephalus'' *'' Yuepingioides'' *'' Zhenganites'' *''

Zoraspis ''Zoraspis'' is a genus of Asaphidae 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 trilobi ...

'' *''

Zuninaspis ''Zuninaspis'' is an extinct genus of trilobite arthropod. It lived during the Arenig stage of the Ordovician Period, approximately 478 to 471 million years ago in what is now Argentina.drawings of many asaphids
Asaphoidea Cambrian first appearances Ordovician extinctions Trilobite families Paleozoic life of the Northwest Territories {{asaphida-stub