Published online by Cambridge University Press: 17 July 2017
Since Barrande (1852) first illustrated a trilobite larva, aspects of trilobite ontogeny and early development have received a great deal of attention (see Beecher, 1895; Størmer, 1942; Whittington, 1957; Hu, 1971; Chatterton, 1980). Much of this literature, however, is purely descriptive and very little has been done to incorporate these works into a biological synthesis. During the past several decades a great deal has been learned about the role of larval ecology in monitoring biogeographic distributions, cohort survivorship and taxonomic longevity among modern marine invertebrates. This growing body of knowledge has provided the basis for many new insights regarding patterns of extinction and survivorship and macroevolution evident within the fossil record (see Jablonski, 1986; Jablonski and Lutz, 1983).