| Olenellina Temporal range:
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|---|---|
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| Olenellus chiefensis | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | †Trilobita |
| Order: | †Redlichiida |
| Suborder: | †Olenellina |
| Superfamilies | |
| |
Olenellina is a suborder of the order Redlichiida of trilobites that occurs about halfway during the Lower Cambrian, at the start of the stage called the Atdabanian. Olenellina are arguably the earliest trilobites in the fossil record as members of Redlichiina, although Ptychopariida and Eodiscina follow soon after.[2] The suborder died out when the Lower Cambrian passed into the Middle Cambrian, at the end of the stage called Toyonian. A feature uniting the Olenellina is the lack of rupture lines (or sutures) in the headshield, which in other trilobites assist the periodic moulting (or ecdysis), associated with arthropod growth. Some derived trilobites have lost facial sutures again (some Eodiscina, all Agnostina, and a few Phacopina), but all of these are blind, while all Olenellina have eyes.
- ^ Lieberman, B.S. (1998). "Cladistic Analysis of the Early Cambrian Olenelloid Trilobites" (PDF). Journal of Paleontology. 72: 59–78. Bibcode:1998JPal...72...59L. doi:10.1017/S0022336000024021. S2CID 86307339.
- ^ III, Sam Gon. "The Earliest Trilobites". www.trilobites.info. Retrieved 2021-10-28.