Paradoxides spinulosus; Print; Paradoxides is a genus of large to very large trilobites found throughout the world during the Mid Cambrian period. One record-breaking specimen of Paradoxides davidis is 37 cm (15 in). It has a semicircular head; free cheeks each ending with a long; narrow; recurved spine; and sickle-shaped eyes; providing almost 360?view; but only in the horizontal plane. Its elongated trunk was composed of 19-21 segments and was adorned with longish; recurved lateral spines. Its pygidium (caudal shield) was comparatively small. Paradoxides is a characteristic Middle Cambrian trilobite of the 'Atlantic' (Avalonian) fauna. Avalonian rocks were deposited near a small continent called Avalonia in the Paleozoic Iapetus Ocean. Avalonian beds are now in a narrow strip along the East Coast of North America; and in Europe.