Kingdom Animalia Class Trilobita Family Proetidae Rank Genus | Phylum Arthropoda Order Proetida Subfamily Proetinae | |
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Similar Cyphaspis, Calymene, Proetida, Leonaspis, Paralejurus | ||
Proetus is a genus of proetid trilobite found in Silurian-aged marine strata across Europe.
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Etymology
The generic name commemorates Proetus (Greek: Προῖτος), a mythical king of Argos and Tiryns, son of King Abas of Argo.
Distribution
Fossils of the type species, P. concinnus, are found in Wenlock-aged marine strata of Sweden, Great Britain, Estonia, and Germany. Fossils of the other recognized species, P. latifrons, are found Llandovery-aged marine strata of Ireland and Great Britain.
Taxonomy
Proetus is the type genus of the order Proetida, and of the family Proetidae. The genus became a wastebasket taxon that held numerous species of similar looking trilobites from the Ordovician to Carboniferous periods. Most of these species have been split off into other genera, leaving only P. concinnus and P. latifrons as the only confirmed members. 'Proetus' foculus Campbell, 1967, and 'Proetus' vaningeni Foerste, 1923, may or may not be in Proetus sensu stricto.