Asaphida

Classification
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Trilobita
Order: Asaphida (Fortey and Chatterton, 1988)
Cincinnatian Families: Asaphidae, Trinucleidae

Geologic Range
Middle Cambrian – Early Silurian

Common Paleoecology
Asaphida is an extinct order of fast-moving, low-level epifaunal deposit feeder.

Characteristics of the Order

• A large, morphologically diverse order that contains six superfamilies.
• Cephalon and pygidium tend to me similar in size and smooth.
• Most species of Asphida exude a prominent medial ventral suture.
• Thorax segments normally numbering 5-12 segments, but may be as few as 2 and as many as 30.