The trilobite Phacops rana |
scale in cms
Phacops rana is one of the most common trilobite found in the Middle Devonian of North America. Strangely enough its close relatives are found 4,000 miles away in Northwest Africa. Why? Chances are they didn't swim across a deep ocean, like the Atlantic. A great deal of evidence suggests that Northwest Africa was very close to eastern North America during the Devonian Period (between 408 - 360 million years ago). It is thought that a collision with Africa was the origin of the Appalachian Mountains, as they exist today. So the trilobite family of Phacops may not have had a very long swim at all!