Cephalic biomechanics underpins the evolutionary success of trilobites

Arthropods (i.e. insects, spiders, crustaceans, myriapods and others), are the most successful Phanerozoic animals. The group are characterised by the possession of a segmented body, jointed limbs and a hard cuticle that is episodically moulted. One highly successful, but now extinct, group of arthropods are the trilobites. Trilobites underwent episodic moulting (ecdysis), and most trilobites possess facial sutures, lines of weakness in the cephalon, via which the exuviae is shed and the animal emerges. However, zones of weakness appear to represent a structural trade-off or constraint, particularly during burrowing behaviours; sacrificing a consolidated head region useful in burrowing for the ability to moult. Here we reconcile this trade-off by using biomechanical modelling to demonstrate that facial sutures exist in regions of low stress during the application of burrowing loads. Furthermore, facial sutures and the structure of the cephalon enable sutured trilobites to withstand grea...