Trilobite
Cryptolithus
Lace-collar trilobite
Cryptolithus is the blind Ordovician trinucleid with a wide, pitted fringe around the head, found in the Kope Formation of Ohio and Kentucky and in the Ordovician of Virginia and Wales. Whole specimens with the thorax and tail are uncommon because the animal moulted the fringe separately; cephala alone are frequent. A good Cryptolithus on Kope shale is an affordable prize.
| Phylum | Arthropoda |
|---|---|
| Class | Trilobita |
| Order | Asaphida |
| Family | Trinucleidae |
| Group | Trilobite |
| Rank (PBDB) | genus· Paleobiology Database |
| Author | Green 1832· Paleobiology Database |
| Classification (PBDB) | Arthropoda › Trilobita › Trinucleida › Trinucleidae· Paleobiology Database |
| Range (PBDB) | 471–443 Ma· Paleobiology Database |
| PBDB occurrences | 200· Paleobiology Database |
Elsewhere
- GBIF: 4577735
- PBDB: 19920
- Wikidata: Q3698832
- PBDB taxon page
- Wikipedia: Cryptolithus
- PBDB search: Cryptolithus
Cite this article
Stratum Study. "Cryptolithus" (Taxon). Stratum Study pack 2026.09, as of 2026-09-19. https://stratum.black/study/taxa/cryptolithus. Accessed 2026-09-20.
@misc{stratum-cryptolithus,
title = {Cryptolithus},
author = {{Stratum Study}},
howpublished = {\url{https://stratum.black/study/taxa/cryptolithus}},
year = {2026},
note = {Taxon article, Stratum Study pack 2026.09, as of 2026-09-19; sources: stratum, pbdb, wikidata, commons. Accessed 2026-09-20.}
} Citations carry the pack version and the article's as-of date so they resolve to the same text later. The facts themselves belong to the sources listed below; cite those for the science.