A genus of trilobites that were among the most abundant and widespread marine animals during the Ordovician and Silurian periods, hundreds of millions of years ago.
From Greek 'asaphos' meaning 'unclear' or 'obscure,' named by 18th-century naturalists who used it for these trilobites whose eye structure was initially unclear to researchers.
Asaphus trilobites left such detailed fossils that scientists can tell how they molted and grew, revealing the life stages of creatures that walked Earth's ancient oceans 450 million years ago.
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