Zong Ruiwen
State Key Laboratory of Biogeology and Environmental Geology, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan, Hubei, China.
PeerJ. 2020 Oct 8;8:e10166. doi: 10.7717/peerj.10166. eCollection 2020.
Ecdysis was a vital process during the lives of trilobites. In addition to preserving the morphological changes in trilobite ontogeny, the preservation of its action often captured interesting behavioral information. Abundant exuviae of are preserved in the Ordovician strata in central Hubei, China, and some of them are arranged with two or three together end to end or superimposed. The preserved patterns and burial conditions indicate that these specimens were caused by the active behavior of trilobites. It is speculated that these exuvial clusters were formed by two or three trilobites in line to molt; that is, after one trilobite finished molting, other trilobites molted in front of, behind, or overlying the previously molted shells. This ecdysis strategy is interpreted as related to the postulated herding behavior of some trilobites, representing a behavioral response of the trilobites to choose a nearby safe zone during some risky life activities.
蜕皮是三叶虫生命中的一个重要过程。除了保留三叶虫个体发育过程中的形态变化外，其蜕皮行为的保存往往还能捕捉到有趣的行为信息。在中国湖北中部的奥陶纪地层中保存着大量的三叶虫蜕壳，其中一些首尾相连或相互叠加地排列着两三个。保存的模式和埋藏条件表明，这些标本是由三叶虫的主动行为造成的。据推测，这些蜕壳群是由两三个排成一排的三叶虫蜕皮形成的；也就是说，一只三叶虫完成蜕皮后，其他三叶虫在先前蜕下的壳前面、后面或上方蜕皮。这种蜕皮策略被解释为与一些三叶虫假定的群居行为有关，代表了三叶虫在一些有风险的生命活动中选择附近安全区域的行为反应。
