Science
They Put the Bite in Trilobite – The New York Times
New research helps explain how some ancient species hunted and fed, and highlights the shell-crushing power of one large trilobite.
The researchers ran the analysis on digital reconstructions of the appendages, to figure out how much stress they could handle. For comparison, they did the same for a different ancient arthropod, Sidneyia inexpectans a known shell-crusher as well as the horseshoe crab. They then compared the results.
O. serratus, they found, likely did not have the ability to break into shelled creatures its long spines would have snapped, Dr. Bicknell said. Instead, it likely used those spines to shred detritus…
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