为揭示我国三叶虫研究的发展脉络, 本文使用CiteSpace引文可视化分析软件对收录在中国知网、《中文科技期刊数据库》以及Web of Science核心合集数据库中的相关文献计量并进行知识图谱分析。目前我国三叶虫研究正处于逐步攀升的发展态势, 研究机构合作网络紧密, 国际影响力逐步提升。我国三叶虫研究热点区域为扬子板块的贵州、云南、湖南、湖北、安徽以及华北板块的河北、山东, 研究热点地层为寒武系与奥陶系; 中文文献研究内容主要聚焦于生物地层学、形态学与分类学, 英文文献研究内容主要聚焦个体发育和生物地层学研究; 研究手段丰富, 跨学科特征显著, 包括地球化学、生态学、流体力学等; 前沿研究课题聚焦于“个体发育蜕壳研究”“高精度三叶虫生物地层框架”“三叶虫多样性与宏演化”等子域, 结合Micro-CT等新技术方法。从论文发表量上看, 我国三叶虫研究经历了初步发展期(1965年前)、停滞期(1966—1975年)、快速上升期(1976—1986年)、波动缓增期(1987—2023年)四个阶段。目前, 该研究方向仍具有巨大的发展潜力。

Trilobites are an extinct group of arthropods known only from the Paleozoic. They were abundant and diverse and had a worldwide distribution. Chinese scholars have been studying trilobites from China since 1924 and have made outstanding contributions to paleontology and stratigraphy of China. To reveal the past, present, and future trilobite research in China, we use CiteSpace citation visualization analysis software to measure the literatures on Chinese trilobites and carry out knowledge graph analysis. Data were collected from the Chinese Science and Technology Journal Database produced by CNKI, Wanfang Data Knowledge Service Platform, and Weipu Information Co., LTD., as well as the Web of Science core collection database, including 429 articles in Chinese database and 178 articles in English database. The results show that trilobite research in China has been increasing gradually with close institutional cooperation networks and gradual increase of international impact. Areas of trilobite research hotspots are in Guizhou, Yunnan, Hunan, Hubei, Anhui of the Yangtze Plate, and Hebei and Shandong of the North China Plate. The most targeted strata are the Cambrian and the Ordovician. The research topics of Chinese literatures focus on biostratigraphy, morphology and taxonomy, while those of English literatures are on ontogeny and biostratigraphy. The research methods have been becoming more diverse and interdisciplinary, involving geochemistry, ecology, fluid mechanics, etc. The cutting-edge research topics focus on the subfields of “ontogenetic molting”, “high-precision trilobite biostratigraphic framework”, and “trilobite diversity and macroevolution”, in combination with new technology such as Micro-CT. Overall, trilobite research has experienced an initial period (before 1965), a stagnation period (1966–1975), a rapid rise period (1976–1986), and a slow fluctuation period (1987–2023). It is urgent to increase talent acquisition and education in trilobite research, deepen interdisciplinary integration, expand the study of trilobites to the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and other remote areas, and strengthen the study of trilobites from the Silurian–Permian strata. Future work may also concentrate on paleogeography, paleoecology, phylogeny, and macroevolution of trilobites from China.

国家自然科学基金项目(41930319)和教育部学科创新引智基地“111”项目(D17013)联合资助