140 



A.W.A. RUSHTON AND J.H. POWELL 



Fig. 14 Hesa problematica Richter & Richter, holotype; plaster cast (It. 26207/2) of cranidial fragment, showing parts of the preocular suture and anterior 

 border, Khirbet El-Burj, Senckenberg Museum X1287a, x 4. 



Figs 15-18 Realaspis sp. nov., Wadi Qunai, Safi. 15a, b, abraded cranidium It.26210/1 ; 15a. whitened, shows the interocular swelling, occipital furrow 

 and occipital node, x 3.5; 15b, unwhitened, shows the course of the facial suture, x 3. 16, small cranidium It.26212/2, x 8. 17, fragment of fixigena of 

 large cranidium attributed to this species, showing granulation. It. 26209/8, x 3. 18, two pygidia. It. 2621 1/1 (right) and 2621 1/2 (left), x 4. 



has more divergent preocular facial sutures and no interocular 

 swelling is shown. Few bigotinid pygidia have been described, but 

 those of the present species are unlike those of Bigotina itself 

 (Pillola 1993: pi. 3, figs 3, 8). 



The holotype of Hesa problematica Richter & Richter ( 1941 : pi. 

 2, fig. 7) is a fragment of a large trilobite on the same block as the 

 holotype of Redlichops blanckenhorni. It is unsuitable to be the 

 formal representative of a distinct genus, but shows a slightly 

 divergent preocular suture and a frontal border (Fig. 14) striated in 

 much the same way as our Fig. 15; it differs because the glabella 

 seems to indent the frontal border, a difference that seems too great 

 to be attributed to the stage of growth. 



Protolemts orientalis Picard ( 1942: 1, pi. 2, figs 1,2) was revised 

 by Parnes (1971: 186, pi. 1, figs 1^0, who figured two cranidia, 

 including Picard's specimen. He referred the species to Resserops 

 (Richtewps) Hupe. 1953, though the form of the palpebral lobe is 

 more compatible with Realaspis. Our material differs from R. 

 orientalis in having a stronger, striated anterior border, a stronger 

 border furrow, wider interocular fixigenae with stronger interocular 

 swellings, and a coarser granulation. However, Realaspis orientalis 

 seems to show greater resemblance to Hesa problematica. but the 

 type material of the latter is so fragmentary that full comparison 

 cannot be made. 



HORIZON. Realaspis sp. nov. occurs with Redlichops (q.v.) and 

 there is no independent indication of its horizon. The most similar 

 species, Realaspis strenoides, occurs at Los Cortijos, in strata of the 

 Galician-Castilian Zone near Toledo, central Spain (Sdzuy 1961: 

 594), where it occurs with Pseudolenus, Kingaspis cf. velatus 



Sdzuy, 1961, and protolenids. which suggest the Bilbilian Stage 

 (Linane/a/, 1993: 822). 



Genus ONARASPIS Opik, 1968 



TYPE SPECIES. Onaraspis somniurna Opik 1968. by original des- 

 ignation. 



Onaraspis palmeri (Parnes, 1971) 



Figs 19, 20 



1923 Asaphid; King: 511 [briefly described as 'of a distinctly 



Asaphid type', no figure]. 

 1971 Myopsolenus palmeri Parnes: 202, pis 3, 4 [described]. 

 1975 Myopsolenus palmeri (Parnes); Opik: 8, 9 [compared with 



O. somniurna: the reference on p. 8 to 'Myopsolenites' is a 



misprint]. 



DISCUSSION. The type material, from Har 'Amram south of the 

 Timna area, is poorly preserved and it is difficult to ascertain the 

 characters of the species. Geyer (1990b: 175) pointed out that 

 Parnes' reconstruction of the cranidium differs in several respects 

 from typical Myopsolenus. and suggested instead that it might be a 

 member of the Bathynotidae. Considering the cranidial features, it is 

 more like some Metadoxides (Pillola 1991: pi. 10. fig. 6), but the 

 pygidium of O. palmeri. which has an axis of several segments and 

 pleural fields with a broad border, is distinct from that of M. armatus 

 (Meneghini), well figured by Pillola (1991: pi. 9, fig. 4), and more 

 like that of Onaraspis. Opik (1975: 9) suggested that Myopsolenus 

 palmeri was 'the same or . . . closely related' to O. somniurna. We 



