The lichid trilobite Borealarges n. gen., with species from the Silurian of Arctic Canada

Abstract

Borealarges n. gen. (type species B. reedi n. gen. and sp.) is a group of trochurine trilobites of mainly northern Laurentian distribution, closely related to both Richterarges Phleger and Terranovia Maximova. Richterarges is restricted to a Laurentian Ludlow-Přídolí clade of unambiguous monophyly. Taken together, the genera form a monophyletic subdivision of Trochurinae. Phylogenetic relationships within this clade are poorly resolved. The precise relationships of some members of the group are difficult to determine at present, and these species are referred to Borealarges sensu lato. Members of Borealarges are ubiquitous elements of silicified Wenlock–Ludlow trilobite faunas contained in debris flows of the Cape Phillips Formation of the central Canadian Arctic. At present, known post-Wenlock diversity of Borealarges is exclusively northern Laurentian, although this may be a function of lack of study in other areas. New species include B. reedi, B. morrisoni, and B. tuckerae, and B. s.l. B. calei. Borealarges mikulicorum (Perry and Chatterton) is revised.