Reproduction is a fundamental part of evolution, so it is not uncommon for animals to possess unique characteristics intended for this purpose.
Just as the birds have songs and colored feathers to attract matesand other animals display similar characteristics, the trilobites they had a trident-shaped tool which allowed them to be more effective when fighting with other males.
It’s about a marine arthropod that lived on the ocean floor more than 400 million years ago. Many of its type had all sorts of spikes and ridges for protection, but in this genre the most prominent feature was a flat three-pronged fork protruding from the front.
“The extraordinary trilobites of the Devonian walliserops wore a unique giant trident on its head, the purpose of which has long been a mystery“, says paleontologist Richard Fortey from the UK Natural History Museum, who adds that “we now believe it was used for jousting between males fighting for dominance.”
A reproductive strategy
The arthropod used its trident or shovel to turn your opponents around, leaving them disabledsuch as a turtle on its back that cannot stand up on its own.
“Although the life habits of fossils are difficult to prove, the consistency of morphology, teratology and biometric data point to the same interpretation, which makes it one of the strongest examples of paleoecological speculation.” explain the researchers.
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