Geobiology Seminar

Date: 

Thursday, May 2, 2019, 2:00pm

Location: 

Haller Hall (Geological Museum 102)

Melanie Hopkins
Assistant Curator, AMNH, Invertebrate Paleontology, Division of Paleontology 
Assistant Professor, Richard Gilder Graduate School

Modeling post-embryonic growth and development in trilobites

Trilobites are a group of extinct arthropods whose exoskeleton was highly biomineralized from an early post-embryonic stage, and thus they have a rich fossil record that includes complete ontogenetic (i.e., developmental) series for many species. Based on studies of trilobite ontogenetic series, it appears that trilobites were hemianamorphic, meaning their ontogeny was characterized by a period of post-embryonic growth when new segments were added to the body followed by a period of continued molting with no new segment addition. Detailed data-rich studies of trilobite ontogeny form the basis of a modeling approach for determining the effect of altering different growth parameters on body size and body proportions. Although the model was based on the segmentation schedule of two similar trilobite species, a diverse array of observed body sizes and relative proportions of body regions can be attained by altering only a few parameters at a time.

 

See also: EHaP Seminars