PARADOXIDES

genus of trilobites (an extinct group of arthropods) found as fossils in Middle Cambrian rocks of North America and western Europe (the Cambrian Period lasted from 540 to 505 million years ago). Paradoxides has a well-developed head region terminating laterally in pointed spines that vary in development from species to species; the tail region is poorly developed. The body is well-segmented, and the axial lobe tapers to the minuscule pygidium (tail). Some species of Paradoxides attained large size (45 cm, or 18 inches). Paradoxides is useful in correlating Middle Cambrian rocks and time.