Redlichia rex

Reconstruction of Redlichia rex 圖源：Katrina Kenny

Age

Cambrian（"Stage 4"）

514 Ma

---

Taxonomy

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Arthropoda

Class: Trilobita

Order: Redlichiida

Family: Redlichiidae

Genus: Redlichia

Species: Redlichia rex

---

Morphological description

Redlichia rex is a very large trilobite, reaching a maximum body length of approximately 30 cm. It possesses prominent genal spines, a thorax composed of 15 segments, and a relatively small pygidium.

Fossil specimen of Redlichia rex 圖源：Holmes et al

---

Etymology

Redlich: a surname, honoring the British paleontologist K. A. Redlich

rex: Latin for 'king', referring to its large body size

---

Biological description

Fossils of Redlichia rex have been discovered in the Emu Bay area of Kangaroo Island, Australia. Its large size, along with spiny appendages capable of crushing hard shells, indicates that it functioned as an active predator. However, Redlichia rex itself was not free from predation. Its heavily armored body, the presence of its remains in coprolites from the same deposits, and specimens showing signs of injury all suggest that it was also preyed upon by even larger predators.

This ecological interaction may reflect one of the driving forces behind the Cambrian explosion: an evolutionary arms race between predators and their prey.

（Author: Bai Leng）

---

References

1. James D. Holmes, John R. Paterson and Diego C. García-Bellido. 2019. The Trilobite Redlichia from the lower Cambrian Emu Bay Shale Konservat-Lagerstätte of South Australia: Systematics, Ontogeny and Soft-part Anatomy. Journal of Systematic Palaeontology

2. 白水. 三葉蟲圖鑑 V1.1

-35.6, 137.5

---