''Globampyx'' is an

extinct Extinction is the termination of an organism by the death of its Endling, last member. A taxon may become Functional extinction, functionally extinct before the death of its last member if it loses the capacity to Reproduction, reproduce and ...

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

trilobite Trilobites (; meaning "three-lobed entities") are extinction, extinct marine arthropods that form the class (biology), class Trilobita. One of the earliest groups of arthropods to appear in the fossil record, trilobites were among the most succ ...

s. It lived during the later part of the Arenig stage of the

Ordovician Period The Ordovician ( ) is a geologic period and system, the second of six periods of the Paleozoic Era, and the second of twelve periods of the Phanerozoic Eon. The Ordovician spans 41.6 million years from the end of the Cambrian Period Ma (mill ...

, approximately 478 to 471 million years ago. Species of the genus are known from Canada (southeastern British Columbia), Norway (Svalbard) and Sweden.

Distribution

* ''G. sinalae'' is known from the Middle Ordovician of Canada (''Orthidiella'' brachiopod zone, Glenogle Shales Formation, North White River Section, British Columbia, 471.8-468.1 Ma) * ''G. trinucleoides'' is known from the Middle Ordovician of Svalbard (''Psephosthenaspis microspinosa'' small shelly zone, Olenidsletta Member, Valhallfonna Formation, Ny friesland, 471.8-457.5 Ma)

Description

The headshield (or

cephalon Cephalon, Inc. was an American biopharmaceutical company co-founded in 1987 by pharmacologist Frank Baldino Jr., Frank Baldino, Jr., neuroscientist Michael Lewis, and organic chemist James C. Kauer—all three former scientists with the DuPont ...

) of ''Globampyx'' is densely covered with very small granules. The central raised area of the cephalon (or

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 ...

) has an inverted flask-shape. It lacks the rapier-like glabellar spine of many other raphiophorids, but only has a tubercle. The thorax has five segments. The short but wide triangular pygidium, with a rather low axis (or rhachis) of up to six indistinct rings that reaches the faint border furrow.

References

Raphiophoridae Asaphida genera Ordovician trilobites Paleozoic life of British Columbia Fossils of Svalbard Fossils of Sweden Paleozoic life of Yukon {{Svalbard-stub