--- id: 49af5079-ce3c-4aee-a150-a4a92762a8f2 title: 'Meniscuchus: Extinct Genus of Cambrian Trilobites' abstract: Meniscuchus is an extinct genus of fossil marine arthropods belonging to the class Trilobita. It lived during the Botomian stage of the Cambrian Period, approximately 522 to 516 million years ago. Fossils of this genus have been discovered in North America, Russia, and Australia. classification: primary: '56' secondary: - '591' - '551.5' udc_main_class: '5' tags: - trilobites - paleontology - Cambrian - fossils - arthropods - extinct genus topics: - Paleontology - Zoology - Earth Sciences author: '' created_at: '2026-06-01T00:21:23.761290' updated_at: '2026-06-01T02:12:47.728459' sources: - type: url uri: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meniscuchus format: url_fetch udc_label: Ancient life, paleontology version: '1' --- ## Card: Meniscuchus: Extinct Genus of Cambrian Trilobites Meniscuchus is an extinct genus of fossil marine arthropods belonging to the class Trilobita. It lived during the Botomian stage of the Cambrian Period, approximately 522 to 516 million years ago. Fossils of this genus have been discovered in North America, Russia, and Australia. ## Classification Primary: 56 | Secondary: 591, 551.5 | Tags: trilobites, paleontology, Cambrian, fossils, arthropods, extinct genus | Topics: Paleontology, Zoology, Earth Sciences ## Content Meniscuchus - Wikipedia Jump to content Main menu Main menu move to sidebar hide Navigation Main page Contents Current events Random article About Wikipedia Contact us Contribute Help Learn to edit Community portal Recent changes Upload file Special pages Search Search Appearance Donate Create account Log in Personal tools Donate Create account Log in Contents move to sidebar hide (Top) 1 Distribution 2 Description 3 References Toggle the table of contents Meniscuchus 1 language Polski Edit links Article Talk English Read Edit View history Tools Tools move to sidebar hide Actions Read Edit View history General What links here Related changes Upload file Permanent link Page information Cite this page Get shortened URL Print/export Download as PDF Printable version In other projects Wikidata item Appearance move to sidebar hide From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Extinct genus of trilobites Meniscuchus Temporal range: Botomian PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N Scientific classification Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Arthropoda Clade : † Artiopoda Class: † Trilobita  (?) Order: † Agnostida Family: † Weymouthiidae Genus: † Meniscuchus Öpik, 1975 Species M. menetus Öpik , 1975 ( type ) M. fissifrons ( Rasetti , 1966) synonym Calodiscus fissifrons M. helena ( Walcott , 1889) synonyms Microdiscus helena , Acimetopus helena , Calodiscus helena M. nanus ( Palmer , 1968) synonym Calodiscus nanus M. reticulata (Rasetti, 1966) Meniscuchus is an extinct genus from a well-known class of fossil marine arthropods , the trilobites . It lived during the Botomian stage , [ 1 ] which lasted from approximately 522 to 516 million years ago. This faunal stage was part of the Cambrian Period . Meniscuchus has been found in the USA (Alaska, New York), Canada (Newfoundland, Quebec), Russia (Siberian Platform, Gorno-Altayskaya) and Australia (New South Wales). [ 2 ] Distribution [ edit ] M. helena has been found in the Lower Cambrian of Canada (Newfoundland). [ 3 ] M. menetus is known from the Lower Cambrian of Australia (Cymbric Vale Formation, New South Wales). [ 2 ] M. nanus was collected in Alaska. [ 3 ] Description [ edit ] Like all Eodiscina, the headshield (or cephalon ) and tailshield (or pygidium ) are approximately equal in size. Like all Weymouthiidae, Meniscuchus is eyeless and lacks free cheeks. The axis of the cephalon (or glabella ) is wide at its base (that is, where it would touch the thorax ) and is rounded at the front, where it touches the border furrow. The glabella is divided by two furrows crossing the glabella, creating a frontal lobe (L4) more than twice as long (along the axis) as its narrow neighbour (L3). Further lobes (L2 and L1) may be suggested by a faint dent in the furrow defining the outline of the glabella. At the back the glabella is terminated by a narrow occipital ring (L0), extended backwards at midline with its margin a semicircle. The cephalic border is almost as wide as L4, but is only half as wide laterally while becoming slightly wider again further back. Thorax probably with three segments. [ 3 ] Its pygidium is relatively long. Its axis is tapering and reaching the border furrow at midline, and is deeply segmented with 4 to 10 axial rings. The pleural areas are unfurrowed. The border of the pygidium is uniformly narrow. The doublure is wide and almost vertical. [ 2 ] References [ edit ] ^ Sepkoski, Jack (2002). "A compendium of fossil marine animal genera (Trilobita entry)" . Bulletins of American Paleontology . 364 : 560. Archived from the original on 5 September 2006 . Retrieved 12 January 2008 . ^ a b c Whittington, H. B. et al. Part O, Treatise on Invertebrate Paleontology. Revised, Volume 1 – Trilobita – Introduction, Order Agnostida, Order Redlichiida. 1997 ^ a b c Öpik, A.A. (1975). "Cymbric Vale Fauna of New South Wales and Early Cambrian Biostratigraphy" (PDF) . BMR Bulletin . 159 : 1– 32. Taxon identifiers Meniscuchus Wikidata : Q6817111 GBIF : 4639302 IRMNG : 1098631 Paleobiology Database : 19268 This Agnostida -related article is a stub . You can help Wikipedia by adding missing information . v t e Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Meniscuchus&oldid=1266920987 " Categories : Weymouthiidae Agnostida genera Cambrian trilobites of North America Cambrian trilobites of Australia Cambrian genus extinctions Agnostida stubs Hidden categories: Articles with short description Short description matches Wikidata Articles with 'species' microformats All stub articles This page was last edited on 2 January 2025, at 21:06  (UTC) . Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License ; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy . Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. , a non-profit organization. Privacy policy About Wikipedia Disclaimers Contact Wikipedia Legal & safety contacts Code of Conduct Developers Statistics Cookie statement Mobile view Search Search Toggle the table of contents Meniscuchus 1 language Add topic ## Source - url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meniscuchus