NOTES ON THE GENUS REEDOCALY MENE KOBAYASHI 1951(TRILOBITA ORDOVICIAN)

For a long time the concept of Reedocalymene has been unclear because its type species was erected onpoorly preserved specimens．The abundant well preserved material of Reedocalymene expansa Yi from the Miaopo Formation of the eastern Yangtze Gorges area in western Hubei including the first recorded complete exoskeleton revealssome dorsal and ventral morphologies that were little known previously in Reedocalymene．This material allows us to revise the genus comprehensively．Some of important features of R．expansa such as facial sutures fossulae rostral plate anterior projection of cephalon and exoskeletal sculpture are discussed providing a basis for understanding the genus until more is known about the type species．At present only the type species R．unicornis and R．expansa can be assigned to Reedocalymene．The range of morphological variation and the observed differences in preservation in R．expansa suggest that all other previously described species assigned to Reedocalymene from the Miaopo Formation in theeastern Yangtze Gorges area should be suppressed as junior synonyms of R．expansa．

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Clc Number:

Q915