{{Short description|Extinct genus of trilobites}} {{Automatic taxobox | fossil_range = {{fossil_range|463|444|Middle to Upper Ordovician}} | image = Cyclopigid cephalon lateral CRF.jpg | image_caption = probably ''Symphysops stevaninae'', cephalon 24mm long, lateral view, found near Alnif, Morocco, from the Ordovician | taxon = Symphysops | authority = Raymond, 1925 | subdivision_ranks = Species | subdivision = See text }}
'''''Symphysops''''' is a genus of trilobites of average size, belonging to the Cyclopygidae family. It had a cosmopolitan distribution and lived from the Middle to the Upper Ordovician (Llanvirn to Ashgill). It has been found in Canada (Quebec and Newfoundland), China, the Czech Republic (Bohemia), Iran, Ireland, Kazakhstan, Poland, Morocco, Spain, Scotland and Wales.<ref name='Treatise'>Whittington, H. B. et al. Part O, Treatise on Invertebrate Paleontology. Revised, Volume 1 – Trilobita – Introduction, Order Agnostida, Order Redlichiida. 1997</ref> The name ''Symphysops'' refers to the fused eyes, common to the species of this genus. Some (sub)species of the cyclopygid genera ''Cyclopyge'' and ''Pricyclopyge'' share this character, but ''Symphysops'' uniquely combines the merged eye with a frontal thorn on the head and the "lower eyelid".
== Description == thumb|leftthumb|left|set of merged eyes''Symphysops'' is characterized by large eyes that merge at the front of the headshield (or cephalon) to form what looks like a visor with at the back a wide free cheek. The remainder of the cephalon is filled by the glabella, which in most species extends into a forward pointing thorn at its frontal tip. The occipital ring cannot be distinguish from the rest of the glabella, which has two pair of transverse furrows, the rear pair distinct, and the frontal pair very shallow. The thorax consists of six segments, the frontal segment carrying backward directed pleural spines.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=López-Soriano |first1=F.J. |last2=Corbacho |first2=J. |year=2012 |title=A new species of Symphysops from the Upper Ordovician of Morocco [Una nueva especie de Symphysops del Ordovícico Superior de Marruecos] |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/265168323 |journal=Battaleria |volume=17 |pages=1–8 |accessdate=14 June 2013}}</ref>
== Ecology == {{unreferenced section|date=February 2026|small=yes}} ''Symphysops'' has features typically associated with a pelagic lifestyle, among which very large eyes, compact thorax and indications of strong musculature. In some later cyclopygids, progressive enlargement resulted in the anterior fusion of their eyes. Given the weight of the dorsal exoskeleton, it is likely cyclopygids swam upside down, not unlike some extant crustaceans with pelagic lifestyles.
''Symphysops'' is often found in the company of other pelagic trilobites such as ''Cyclopyge'', ''Degamella'', ''Opipeuterella'' and ''Carolinites''.
==Species== * ''S. armatus'' <small>(Barrande, 1872) (type)</small> synonym ''Aeglina armata'' * ''S. dejhaglensis'' <small>Kolova, 1936</small> * ''S. mitrata'' <small>(Novak, 1883)</small> synonym ''Aeglina mitrata''<ref>{{cite journal|last= Novak|first= O.|year= 1883|title= Zur Kenntnis der böhmischen Trilobiten|journal= Beiträge zur Paläontology von Österreich- Ungarns und des Orients|volume= 3|issue= 1–2|pages= 23–83|url= http://www.landesmuseum.at/pdf_frei_remote/BPalOeU_003_0023-0063.pdf|accessdate= 14 June 2013|archive-date= 11 December 2015|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20151211020009/http://www.landesmuseum.at/pdf_frei_remote/BPalOeU_003_0023-0063.pdf|url-status= live}}</ref> * ''S. sinensis'' <small>Han, 1983</small> * ''S. spinifera'' <small>Cooper & Kindle, 1936</small> * ''S. stevaninae'' <small>López-Soriano & Corbacho, 2012</small> * ''S. subarmatus'' <small>(Reed, 1914)</small> ** ''S. subarmatus subarmatus'' ** ''S. subarmatus elongatus'' <small>Kielan, 1959</small> * ''S. sulcatus'' <small>(Barrande, 1872)</small> synonym ''Aeglina sulcata''
== References == {{Reflist}}
{{Portal|Paleontology}} {{Taxonbar|from=Q16992889}}
Category:Cyclopygidae Category:Asaphida genera Category:Ordovician trilobites Category:Fossils of Canada Category:Fossils of China Category:Fossils of the Czech Republic Category:Fossils of Iran Category:Fossils of Ireland Category:Fossils of Kazakhstan Category:Fossils of Poland Category:Fossils of Morocco Category:Fossils of Spain Category:Fossils of Great Britain Category:Prehistoric animals of China Category:Middle Ordovician first appearances Category:Late Ordovician extinctions Category:Paleontology in Quebec Category:Paleontology in Newfoundland and Labrador Category:Paleozoic life of Quebec Category:Nektonic trilobites