Palaeobiogeography of the Ordovician trilobite 'Prosopiscus', with a new species from western New South Wales

Abstract

'Prosopiscus' is particularly important in Ordovician palaeobiogeography because of its wide geographic distribution in Gondwana and peri-Gondwanan regions. It appears to have been confined to low palaeolatitudes, representing a characteristic member of the warm water eastern Gondwanan shelf faunas. Trends in the distribution of the Ordovician genus can be observed due to its long stratigraphic range. 'Prosopiscus' was restricted to, and may have originated in, Australia during the late Early Ordovician (Bendigonian-Chewtonian). By the Middle Ordovician (Darriwilian), 'Prosopiscus' had dispersed to other parts of Gondwana and peri-Gondwana, including the North and South China blocks, Tarim, central Himalayas, and the Argentine Precordillera (South America). Possible explanations for the distribution of 'Prosopiscus' are that: (1) there were no oceanic barriers preventing dispersal of trilobites between different regions of Gondwana, thus permitting uninhibited migration over vast distances; (2) 'Prosopiscus' was not restricted to a specific biofacies; (3) a major eustatic transgression during the early Darriwilian may have facilitated the dispersal of 'Prosopiscus' in allowing further development and expansion of marine environments; and (4) a prolonged planktonic larval stage may have permitted wide dispersal.