Phacopida

Psychopyge elegans

Order Phacopida / Suborder Phacopina / Superfamily Acastoidea / Family Acastidae / Subfamily Asteropyginae

Emsian (Early Devonian)Morocco
Psychopyge elegans — photo 1
Photo 1 · Front of the cephalon extended into a flat spearhead-shaped protuberance, pointed anteriorly and wide posteriorly; three pairs of glabellar furrows; occipital spine long, curved backward; eyes large; proparian facial sutures; librigenae narrow; fixigenae with long genal spines. Thorax of 11 segments; axial spines from segment 3 onward; pleurae with vertical spinules and long pleural spines. Pygidium large; 18 axial rings, each with an axial spine; anterior five pairs of pleural segments with vertical spinules; 5 pairs of rather straight long marginal spines plus a median short spine. Holotype (Morocco; Harrington et al., 1959) Literature specimen (Morocco; Morzadec 2001) UA13370 (Morocco; Chatterton et al., 2006) Complete dorsal exoskeleton (Morocco; Li Nan)
Psychopyge elegans — photo 2
Photo 2 · Front of the cephalon extended into a flat spearhead-shaped protuberance, pointed anteriorly and wide posteriorly; three pairs of glabellar furrows; occipital spine long, curved backward; eyes large; proparian facial sutures; librigenae narrow; fixigenae with long genal spines. Thorax of 11 segments; axial spines from segment 3 onward; pleurae with vertical spinules and long pleural spines. Pygidium large; 18 axial rings, each with an axial spine; anterior five pairs of pleural segments with vertical spinules; 5 pairs of rather straight long marginal spines plus a median short spine. Holotype (Morocco; Harrington et al., 1959) Literature specimen (Morocco; Morzadec 2001) UA13370 (Morocco; Chatterton et al., 2006) Complete dorsal exoskeleton (Morocco; Li Nan)
Psychopyge elegans — photo 3
Photo 3 · Front of the cephalon extended into a flat spearhead-shaped protuberance, pointed anteriorly and wide posteriorly; three pairs of glabellar furrows; occipital spine long, curved backward; eyes large; proparian facial sutures; librigenae narrow; fixigenae with long genal spines. Thorax of 11 segments; axial spines from segment 3 onward; pleurae with vertical spinules and long pleural spines. Pygidium large; 18 axial rings, each with an axial spine; anterior five pairs of pleural segments with vertical spinules; 5 pairs of rather straight long marginal spines plus a median short spine. Holotype (Morocco; Harrington et al., 1959) Literature specimen (Morocco; Morzadec 2001) UA13370 (Morocco; Chatterton et al., 2006) Complete dorsal exoskeleton (Morocco; Li Nan)
Psychopyge elegans — photo 4
Photo 4 · Front of the cephalon extended into a flat spearhead-shaped protuberance, pointed anteriorly and wide posteriorly; three pairs of glabellar furrows; occipital spine long, curved backward; eyes large; proparian facial sutures; librigenae narrow; fixigenae with long genal spines. Thorax of 11 segments; axial spines from segment 3 onward; pleurae with vertical spinules and long pleural spines. Pygidium large; 18 axial rings, each with an axial spine; anterior five pairs of pleural segments with vertical spinules; 5 pairs of rather straight long marginal spines plus a median short spine. Holotype (Morocco; Harrington et al., 1959) Literature specimen (Morocco; Morzadec 2001) UA13370 (Morocco; Chatterton et al., 2006) Complete dorsal exoskeleton (Morocco; Li Nan)
Classification
Order Phacopida / Suborder Phacopina / Superfamily Acastoidea / Family Acastidae / Subfamily Asteropyginae
Genus
Psychopyge Termier & Termier, 1950
Genus author
Termier G. & Termier H.
Genus etymology
psych-, Greek, spirit, mind; pyge, Greek, tail
Species
P. elegans Termier & Termier, 1950
Species author
Termier G. & Termier H.
Species etymology
elegans, Latin, elegant, graceful
Age
Emsian (Early Devonian)
Distribution
Morocco
Remarks
This species is the type species of the genus Psychopyge, commonly known as the "airplane head".