Family Proetidae

Subfamilies: Proetinae, Cornuproetinae, Dechenellinae, Tropidocoryphinae

Genera: Astycoryphe, Cornuproetus, Diademaproetus?, Dechenella, Dohmiella, Gerastos (former Rhenocynproetus), Quadratoproetus, Tropidocoryphe.

 

Proetidae is one of the most ubiquitous trilobite families in the Ardennes. Of all it subfamilies, Proetinae is probably the largest, especially during the Middle Devonian. Gerastos is well-known but there are also other genera that occur here (most of which have a taxonomic status that is under debate). Special attention should be given to Dohmiella which, with its eccentric mode of exoskeletal ornament, appears to be consistently distinct from Gerastos. Dohmiella is only known from the Middle Devonian of Germany, Poland, Czech Republic, and Belgium, while Gerastos is much more wide-spread.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Contrary to Proetinae, members of Cornuproetinae, Dechenellinae and Tropidocoryphinae are somewhat restricted in their distribution in the Ardennes. Diademaproetus is only known from a tentatively assigned specimen from the Mur des douaniers of Vireux-Molhain. Cornuproetus occurs in the middle Eifelian and upper Eifelian. Tropidocoryphe is restricted to the lower and middle Eifelian whereas the generally rare Astycoryphe ranges throughout the Eifelian.

List of species

Pragian

- Proetinae gen. & sp. Indet.

 

Eifelian

- Dohmiella spp.

- Dohmiella sp. 1 (sensu VAN VIERSEN, 2006)

- Dohmiella dewildei VAN VIERSEN, 2006

- Dohmiella tenuiornata VAN VIERSEN & PRESCHER, 2008

- Gerastos catervus (VAN VIERSEN, 2006)

- Gerastos lessensis VAN VIERSEN & PRESCHER, 2008

- Gerastos arcus VAN VIERSEN & PRESCHER, 2010
- Gerastos couvinensis VAN VIERSEN & PRESCHER, 2010
- Tropidocoryphe barroisi (MAILLIEUX, 1904)

- Tropidocoryphe cf. bassei VAN VIERSEN et al., 2009

- Astycoryphe sp. B
- Astycoryphe exilis VAN VIERSEN & PRESCHER, 2010

- Astycoryphe jorusi VAN VIERSEN & PRESCHER, 2010

- Cornuproetus latentissimus VAN VIERSEN & PRESCHER, 2010

- Cornuproetus cf. latentissimus (sensu VAN VIERSEN & PRESCHER, 2010)

- Cornuproetus sp. 2

- Cornuproetus sp. 3

- Diademaproetus? sp.

- Dechenella daumeriesi VAN VIERSEN & PRESCHER, 2008

- Dechenella spp.

 

Givetian

- Dechenella spp.

- Dechenella sp. R

- Dechenella rossumi VAN VIERSEN & PRESCHER, 2010

- Gerastos snellingsi VAN VIERSEN & PRESCHER, 2010

 

Frasnian

- Dechenella? sp.

Homalonotidae  Acastidae  Phacopidae  Scutelluidae  Lichidae  Odontopleuridae  Aulacopleuridae  Proetidae

Some of the many different faces of Gerastos.