Prehistoric Earth Wiki

Fossil specimen of P. davidis

Paradoxides was a trilobite genus that lived during the Middle Cambrian.


Paradoxides was a moderately large trilobite, growing to different sizes depending on the species. The largest, P. davidis, grew up to 70 centimters in length. Fossils of the genus have been found in many places throughout the Northern Hemisphere.[1]


Paradoxides gives its name to the trilobite family Paradoxididae. Ten species are currently known, and many more have been transferred to other genera.[2]


Due to its large size, P. davidis was likely a carnivore.[3]


  1. Benes, Josef. Prehistoric Animals and Plants. Pg. 54. Prague: Artia, 1979.
  2. Moore, R.C. (1959). Arthropoda I - Arthropoda General Features, Proarthropoda, Euarthropoda General Features, Trilobitomorpha. Treatise on Invertebrate Paleontology. Part O. Boulder, Colorado/Lawrence, Kansas: Geological Society of America/University of Kansas Press. pp. 1–560. ISBN 0-8137-3015-5.
  3. J. W. Salter (1863). "On the Discovery of Paradoxides in Britain" (abstract). Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society 19 (1-2): 274–277. doi:10.1144/GSL.JGS.1863.019.01-02.28.