# Bulbaspis

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{{Short description|Extinct genus of trilobites}}
{{Automatic taxobox
| fossil_range = {{Fossilrange|Late Ordovician|Late Ordovician|Late [Ordovician](/source/Ordovician)}}
| image = Bulbaspis mirabilis.JPG
| image_caption = ''B. mirabilis''
| taxon = Bulbaspis
| authority = Chugaeva, 1956
| type_species = ''[Ampyx](/source/Ampyx_(trilobite)) bulbifer''
| type_species_authority = Weber, 1932
| subdivision_ranks = Species groups
| subdivision_ref = <ref name=zzzz />
| subdivision = See text
}}

'''''Bulbaspis''''' ("bulb shield") is a late [Ordovician](/source/Ordovician) [genus](/source/genus) of [asaphid](/source/Asaphida) [trilobite](/source/trilobite)s of the [family](/source/Family_(taxonomy)) [Raphiophoridae](/source/Raphiophoridae) found primarily in upper Ordovician-aged deepwater marine strata of [Kazakhstan](/source/Kazakhstan), [China](/source/China), and possibly [Tasmania](/source/Tasmania).  Species of ''Bulbaspis'' are similar to other raphiophorids such as ''[Ampyx](/source/Ampyx_(trilobite))'' and ''[Raphiophorus](/source/Raphiophorus)'', save that the long spine that emanates from the glabella of the latter two genera has been modified into a knob-like or bulb-like structure in ''Bulbaspis'' that developed incrementally in the animal's growth.<ref name=zzzz>Zhiqiang, Zhou, and Zhou Zhiyi. "Late Ordovician trilobites from the Zhusilenghaierhan area, Ejin Banner, western Inner Mongolia, China."MEMOIR-ASSOCIATION OF AUSTRALASIAN PALAEONTOLOGISTS 32 (2006): 383. {{cite web|url=http://159.226.74.248:8000/pagelinks/140412.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=2016-01-12 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160513002808/http://159.226.74.248:8000/pagelinks/140412.pdf |archivedate=2016-05-13 }}</ref>  The function of the bulb is currently unknown: one hypothesis suggests [sexual selection](/source/sexual_selection) may have had a role in its evolution in the genus.<ref name=knell>Knell, Robert J., and Richard A. Fortey. "Trilobite spines and beetle horns: sexual selection in the Palaeozoic?." Biology letters 1.2 (2005): 196-199. [https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/pmc1626209/]</ref>
thumb|220px|left|Individuals of ''B. brevis'', demonstrating development of the bulb

==Species==
* ''ovulum'' group
** ''B. lageniformis'' <small>Zhou et al. 1982</small>
** ''B. ovulum'' <small>Weber 1948</small>
** ''B. ordosensis'' <small>Lu et al. 1976</small>
* ''bulbifer'' group
** ''B. brevis'' <small>Zhou & Zhou, 2006</small>
** ''B. bulbifer'' <small>(Weber, 1932)</small>
** ''B. korlaensis'' <small>Zhang, 1981</small>
** ''B. mirabilis'' <small>Chugaeva, 1958</small>
** ''B. sphaerornatus'' <small>Chugaeva, 1958</small>

== See also ==
*[List of trilobites](/source/List_of_trilobites)

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

{{Taxonbar|from=Q22286950}}

Category:Raphiophoridae
Category:Asaphida genera
Category:Ordovician trilobites of Asia
Category:Late Ordovician first appearances
Category:Late Ordovician extinctions

{{Asaphida-stub}}

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Bulbaspis](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bulbaspis) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bulbaspis?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.