Burlingiídae Temporal range:
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Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Animalia
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Phylum: | Arthropoda
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Class: | Trilobita
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Order: | incerti ordinis
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Family: | Burlingiidae[1] Walcott, 1908
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genera | |
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The Burlingiidae constitute a family of trilobites of uncertain affinity, that lived during the Middle to lowest Upper Cambrian (Acadoparadoxides pinus- to Agnostus pisiformis-zone). Burlingiids have a cosmopolitan distribution, can be found in deposits that originate from outside the continental shelves, and may have been planktonic. They are characterized by their oval shape, small size (less than 1 centimetre or 0.39 inches), proparian sutures, and non-functional articulations of the thorax. Uniquely the anterior borders of the pleura are raised, and there are between 8 and 15 thorax segments. Burlingiid trilobites have been found in Norway, Sweden, Northern Siberia, Eastern and South-eastern China, Australia (Tasmania), India (Himalayas) and the United Kingdom.