Turn the Tide Ruggle

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Books. Change. Lives.

Cover and internal design © 2019 by Sourcebooks, Inc.
Cover design by Dawn Adams/Sourcebooks, Inc.
Cover images © Peepo/Getty Images, © Frank Simon/EyeEm

The publisher acknowledges the copyright holders of the individual works as

follows:
“Any Means Necessary” © 2019 by Katie Ruggle
“Deep Blue” © 2019 by Adriana Anders
“No Way Out” © 2019 by Juno Rushdan
“Beyond Home” © 2019 by Connie Mann

Sourcebooks and the colophon are registered trademarks of Sourcebooks, Inc.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any
electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval
systems—except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or
reviews—without permission in writing from its publisher, Sourcebooks, Inc.

The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious and are used
fictitiously. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental and
not intended by the author.

Published by Sourcebooks Casablanca, an imprint of Sourcebooks, Inc.

P.O. Box 4410, Naperville, Illinois 60563–4410
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 Contents

Front Cover
Title Page
Copyright
Any Means Necessary
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
About the Author
Deep Blue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
 Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
About the Author
No Way Out
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
 About the Author
Beyond Home
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
About the Author
Back Cover
 Any Means Necessary
A Rocky Mountain Bounty Hunters Novella
Katie Ruggle
 Chapter 1

“I hate the mall,” Molly said.

“I know.” Cara’s voice was endlessly patient, as if she hadn’t heard
this same complaint a dozen times in the past twenty minutes.
“What are all these people doing here?” Molly was honestly baffled
as she looked around at the late-summer Saturday crowd. “Don’t
they know about the internet?”
When her sister didn’t respond, Molly glanced over to see Cara’s
wistful gaze fixed on a bookstore’s back-to-school textbooks display.
A nerve twitched under Molly’s eye. “Cara.”
Cara’s head whipped around to face front, her expression filled
with sheepish guilt. She had always been hopeless at poker. “What?”
“You didn’t.”
Shooting Molly a sideways glance, Cara held out for a full two-and-
a-half seconds before her shoulders sagged. “I didn’t know what
else to do. She needed money and would’ve hit you up next. You
need everything you have for the business.”
Molly clicked her molars shut before she could blurt out the first
angry words that wanted to escape. Taking a few breaths, she tried
to keep her voice calm—and was almost successful. “Jane is an
adult. She needs to earn her own money, not scam her daughter
into giving up her tuition.”
 Cara flushed, and Molly felt a pang of regret for shaming her sister.
Molly had been just as guilty of giving in to their mother’s
machinations in the past, but this was Cara, who’d dreamed for
years of becoming a teacher. If Jane kept taking the money she
needed for college, Cara would eventually end up a sixty-year-old
who’d spent her life working as a bounty hunter instead of doing
what she loved.
“You know she would’ve just stolen it if I hadn’t given it to her.”
A rush of anger made Molly’s cheeks burn. “That’s her decision.
You’re not responsible for the bad things she does.”
“It’s fine,” Cara said, setting her chin stubbornly. “I’ll just take next
semester off. You need all the help you can find to get the business
off the ground anyway.” She made a valiant attempt at a
lighthearted smile. “I do your books, so don’t even try to tell me
you’re not grabbing every job you can get. More available hands in
the field will only help.”
Pushing back her rage at their mom’s selfishness, Molly tried to
think of a tactful way to tell her sister that, as much as she loved
her, Cara’s talents were much better used behind a desk. As far as
paperwork and record keeping went, Cara was ruthlessly competent
and organized. In the field, however, she was inept to a terrifying
degree.
Before she could come up with a gentle way to turn down Cara’s
offer of more hands-on help, a familiar figure caught Molly’s eye.
“There’s Doreen.”
Cara snapped to attention, her gaze following Molly’s to the
woman making her way to the toy store. “You sure? She looks
completely different from the person in the surveillance videos.”
“I’m sure.” Doreen might be wearing thrift-store castoffs rather
than her preferred couture suit and a brown wig over her blond hair,
but the woman couldn’t hide the slightly stiff hitch in her right hip or
her tendency to tip her head to the side when sizing up a mark.
Pulling out her phone, Molly sent a group text. Spotted at toy store. Plan
A is a go.
Cara must have finally noticed the same tells, because her breath
caught as she watched Doreen enter the store. “Whoa. That is her.
Good eye, Molly.”
As adrenaline fizzed through her, Molly gave her sister a fierce grin.
She’d deal with their mess of a mother later. Right now, she had a
skip to catch.
“Yell if you need backup,” Cara said, heading toward the escalator.
The view from the second-level railing would let her keep eyes on
the toy store.
With a wave to show she’d heard, Molly weaved between
shoppers, trying to keep her expression more casual than predatory.
It was difficult, though. They’d been chasing Doreen around
Langston and Denver for weeks. Now that she was so close, Molly
was determined to take the skip in. Doreen’s bail bond had been
decent, which meant Molly could finally pay some bills with the
bounty money…and start scraping together Cara’s replacement
tuition.
Shoving those thoughts aside, she concentrated on finding Doreen.
The toy store aisles were packed close together, and brightly colored
displays blocked Molly’s view, forcing her to search down each aisle.
The store was busy enough to make moving quickly impossible, so
Molly wound around the kids and their parents, keeping her pace
slow and pretending she was there to shop.
Her impatience pricked at her, though, reminding her of all the
times she’d thought she’d had Doreen cornered, only to have the
other woman slip the leash and disappear. This skip was slippery,
and Molly didn’t want her torturous trip to the mall to be for nothing.
As she rounded the aisle endcap, barely looking at the huge toy-car
racetrack proudly displayed there, she slammed to an abrupt halt.
Doreen stood in front of the wall of LEGOs, her usually straight
shoulders drooping and her chin dipped toward her chest. Every so
often, Doreen would touch one of the castle sets before dropping
her hand and heaving an audible, mournful sigh. An older woman,
who was picking out a simple puzzle on the other side of the aisle,
kept throwing curious glances in Doreen’s direction. Pretending to
examine the toys at the far end of the aisle, Molly stayed alert,
waiting for the right moment to grab Doreen. She didn’t want the
white-haired grandma type to be injured if there was a scuffle—or a
full-on wrestling match. Unfortunately, it appeared that the older
woman was about to step into Doreen’s trap.
Don’t fall for it, Granny, Molly warned silently, but the woman was
obviously not a mind reader. Molly mentally rolled her eyes as
Doreen, like the scam artist she was, blew out the deepest, most
heartrending sigh yet before wiping away a tear.
“Are you okay?” the white-haired woman asked, and it was Molly’s
turn to sigh. Grandma had taken the bait.
“Oh!” Pretending to jump with surprise, Doreen hastily wiped
under her eyes. “Sorry. I’m fine. It’s just…” She brushed the LEGO kit
with her fingertips again.
“What is it?” Fully lured in, the older woman took the final step to
stand next to Doreen.
“My daughter, Bailey, is turning six tomorrow, and she desperately
wants this.” Doreen nodded toward the LEGO castle as she gave a
slightly choked laugh. “She’s been pleading for months.”
The grandma smiled. “My eight-year-old granddaughter has that
set, and she loves it.”
 Molly resisted the urge to shake her head. There was a reason
Doreen was a scam artist; she was really good at it.
“She’s been really into fairy tales, especially since her dad died—”
Doreen’s voice broke, and the older woman sucked in a sympathetic
breath before patting Doreen’s arm. Doreen blinked rapidly, and
another tear tracked down her cheek. “He used to read her bedtime
stories, so I think it’s her way of staying close to him, now that
he’s…gone.”
“She’ll love her birthday present, then,” the grandma assured
Doreen, still patting her arm comfortingly.
“It’s just that I can’t…” She broke off on a sob before visibly
stiffening her shoulders. “I’m sorry. This isn’t your problem. I’m so
sorry I bothered you.”
Molly could tell that Grandma was fully caught in Doreen’s net of
lies. “No, no, dear. You didn’t bother me. I’m sorry you’re having
such a hard time with your husband’s death. When I lost my Frank, I
wandered around in a daze for a year. It will get better, but being
alone is hard, especially when you’re trying to raise a little one.”
It was all Molly could do to hold back a scoff. The only thing
Doreen was grieving was getting arrested for her last scam. She had
never been married, and she didn’t have any kids.
Molly shuffled a little closer to the two women.
“Thank you.” Reaching out, Doreen clasped the other woman’s
hand. “That means so much from another widow.” Offering a brave,
trembling smile, Doreen started turning away.
“Wait,” Grandma called after her. “You forgot your daughter’s
present.” Pulling one of the kits off the shelf, she held it out to
Doreen, who regarded it with heartbreaking sadness.
“I can’t afford it.” Doreen pressed the heels of her hands into her
eyes as she pulled in a short, shaky breath. “The factory laid me off
last week, and we were already behind on bills, thanks to the…
funeral costs. I can’t even afford to buy her a birthday cake.” Her
shoulders drooping even more dramatically, she slowly started to
turn away again.
“Wait,” the grandma said before Doreen could get far. “Let me
help.” She reached into her oversize handbag, and Molly knew she
needed to take the scam artist down immediately. She hurried down
the aisle as the older woman pulled out a handful of cash.
Doreen caught sight of Molly, and her expression went from
dawning hope to narrow-eyed comprehension in a fraction of a
second. Molly sped up to a sprint, knowing the woman was going to
run. Sure enough, Doreen spun and bolted.
Grandma gave a surprised cry as Molly lunged toward Doreen,
intending to catch her legs and bring her down. Something hard hit
the back of Molly’s head, sending her sprawling. Shaking off the
shock of the blow, she grabbed for Doreen. Her fingers brushed the
back of one of the fleeing woman’s tennis shoes, but she couldn’t
get a solid grip.
As Molly launched to her feet, she saw the LEGO box swing toward
her head again, this time hurtling toward her face. She barely
managed to get her hands up in time.
“Stop it, ma’am!” she ordered, ducking to avoid another swing as
she marveled at how much a hit from the plastic box stung. “I’m a
bounty hunter. Doreen Douglas—Ow! Stop!—Doreen skipped bail
after—Ow!—being arrested for fraud and—Would you stop? Ouch!—
fraud and theft. She’s a scam artist!”
The older woman finally stopped swinging and stared at Molly.
“Oh! She was lying about her daughter? What a terrible person. Why
are you standing here, then? Go get her!”
 Holding back a frustrated sigh, Molly took off down the aisle after
Doreen. She fought her way through the line in front of the register
and rushed to the front of the store. By the time she made it out,
Doreen had disappeared into the crowds. “Why don’t these things
ever go smoothly?” Molly muttered, yanking her phone out of her
pocket.
Left, Cara had texted. Giving her sister a thank-you wave, Molly
took off in that direction, scanning for Doreen as she threaded her
way through the shoppers. The brown wig was nowhere to be seen,
but Molly caught a flash of blond hair and made her way toward it.
Sure enough, the blond speed-walking toward the exit had Doreen’s
distinctive gait.
Molly broke into a run, knowing she had to catch the woman
before she made it through the doors and into the attached parking
garage. The distance between them narrowed, and Molly was just
starting to hope that maybe the day wouldn’t be a complete disaster
when Doreen glanced over her shoulder.
Her eyes went wide as she spotted Molly bearing down on her, and
she turned sharply, cutting through a kids’ play area. With a huff of
impatience, Molly skirted around the playground, knowing she
couldn’t tackle Doreen surrounded by toddlers. Reaching the edge of
the kids’ area, Doreen bolted, and Molly sprinted after her.
The woman is fast, Molly thought with reluctant admiration,
fighting to make it through the crowd without throwing too many
elbows. They’re innocent bystanders, she reminded herself grimly,
even if they did make her job a hundred times harder. It looked so
easy in the movies, where everyone moved out of the way, but in
real life, people tended to plant themselves and gawk, forcing her to
skirt around them instead.
 When Molly saw where Doreen was headed, she groaned. Not the
food court! Putting on another burst of speed, she made a valiant
effort to catch up. The crowded, messy food court was the last place
she wanted to be chasing a skip.
The space between them narrowed, and Molly reached out, her
fingertips just inches from the back of Doreen’s hoodie. Hope rose
again, only to be extinguished when the woman pivoted suddenly,
taking a sharp right and darting between the backs of two seated
customers. One pushed his chair back and stood, blocking the path,
and Molly was forced to quickly turn and round the table in the other
direction.
If she had any oxygen to spare, she would’ve been swearing under
her breath as the space between her and her quarry lengthened.
Setting her jaw stubbornly, she weaved between tables, digging in
and speeding up, not allowing her tiring body to flag.
“Hey!” a bass voice called, and her head whipped in that direction.
A huge guy stood to the side, his air of authority making her
immediately assume he was mall security. She’d expected the mall
cops to intervene at some point, but that was another annoying
obstacle she would have to deal with, and she kind of had her hands
full at the moment.
It took her a second to realize that her theory was off base. First,
he wasn’t in uniform. Second, he was grinning a huge, dimpled
smile. Third, and most importantly, he’d unhooked a rope that had
been partitioning the food court, opening up a beautiful shortcut for
her.
Molly grinned back at him as she darted through, wishing she had
enough breath to thank him, but he didn’t seem to mind.
“Go get her,” he said in that rumbling voice, and her smile widened
as she realized just how gorgeous this random Good Samaritan was.
Then her brain kicked back into work mode, and the stranger was
forgotten as she sprinted toward Doreen’s retreating figure, not
wanting to waste the advantage she’d gained.
Doreen took another sharp turn, but this time, Molly was ready for
it and stuck right behind her. They were reaching the edge of the
food court, and the south exit doors were twenty feet away. As
Doreen ran around the last table, Molly charged after her, so close
she could taste victory and that lovely bill-and-tuition-paying bounty
money.
Even as she bared her teeth in triumph, Molly saw Doreen grab a
little boy’s arm, yanking him into the path behind her—and right in
front of Molly. She saw his huge eyes widen as Molly scrambled to
throw on the brakes, knowing the boy was too tall to hurdle and she
was too close to stop completely before bashing into him.
Desperately, she hurled herself to the side, the edge of the table
knocking painfully against her hip before she skidded over the top
and landed hard. She was on her feet immediately, ignoring new
aches that were sure to develop into colorful bruises.
“You okay?” she asked the kid as his mom snatched him against
her. As soon as the boy nodded, she was running toward Doreen
again, but she already knew those few seconds of delay had been
too long. Sure enough, Doreen was almost to the doors. The mall
was crowded, but the street outside was even busier, and Doreen
was much too talented at disappearing—as Molly knew from painful
experience.
Still, she gave everything in that final sprint as Doreen reached for
the door handle, shooting a triumphant smirk over her shoulder at
Molly…just before someone shot from the side to tackle Doreen to
the floor.
 Doreen gave a surprised shriek as she was taken down, and Molly
slowed to a jog, her smile returning even as she sucked in air.
“Nice…job…Charlie,” she told her sister, who grinned back at her
fiercely. There was nothing Charlie loved as much as tackling a skip.
Even though Charlie and Cara were twins, their personalities couldn’t
be more different. Right now, Molly was grateful she had both of
them on her side.
“Didn’t I tell you she’d head for the food court?” Charlie asked
triumphantly, turning her attention back to Doreen, who was
squirming in her hold. Charlie latched on to Doreen’s right thumb
and pulled her arm behind her back, and the woman in her grip
went still.
“You did, but I was still hoping I wouldn’t have to be covered in
ketchup today.” Glancing down at her side, where some mysterious
brown substance stained her shirt from the slide across the table,
Molly sighed and then refocused on her sister. “Need any help?”
“Nah, I’m good. Are the deputies on their way?”
Cara jogged up, and Doreen immediately started pleading, an
artful tear streaking down her cheek. “Please help me! These crazy
women chased me down. They want to rob me!”
Cara, being Cara, gave Doreen a sympathetic smile. “Sorry, but
that’s not going to work on me. I was the one who did all the
research.”
With an annoyed-sounding grunt, Doreen dropped the act and
went back to muttering invectives under her breath.
Turning to her twin, Cara continued, “I let the deputies know. They
said they’re three minutes out.”
“Thanks.” Molly was about to ask if she’d also told Felicity when
she spotted her youngest sister heading toward them.
 “How do you always know which way the skips are going to run?”
Felicity asked Charlie as soon as she was within earshot. “I ended up
with the boring, unused exit again and missed out on all the
excitement. It’s like you’re psychic. I never get to tackle anyone.”
Charlie just gave her a Cheshire-cat grin. “It’s a gift.”
“If you want excitement,” Molly said, still catching her breath,
“you’re welcome to be the one who does the chasing next time, Fifi.
I’ll watch an exit instead. That seems like it’d be nice and peaceful.”
Felicity shot her a glare at the hated nickname. “Seems like we
need to up our morning workouts if a little jog through the mall
leaves you so out of breath.”
The rest of them groaned, especially Molly. At this point, with
fatigue making her legs shake as adrenaline drained out of her, she
couldn’t imagine even walking to the parking garage, much less
enduring one of Felicity’s grueling training sessions. She sent a text
to their other sister, Norah, asking her to pick them up at the south
entrance. Norah was a genius with tech, but she was even more
hopeless in the field than Cara was.
“I almost had her,” Molly said as she returned her phone to her
pocket. “If she hadn’t started throwing children in front of me…” She
gave Doreen a chastising look, but the pinned woman just turned
her head to the other side to avoid Molly’s gaze.
“Yeah, I saw,” Felicity said. “Who was that guy who helped you?”
Molly shrugged, glancing back toward the food court, but the
giant, smiling stranger wasn’t anywhere to be seen. “Some random
helpful dude, I guess. I thought he was a security guard, but he
wasn’t wearing a uniform.”
“Speaking of security,” Cara said in a low voice, tipping her head
toward a wide-eyed man and woman in bright-yellow shirts hurrying
toward them.
 “He definitely wasn’t security, then.” Molly straightened, pushing
back all thoughts of the gorgeous stranger, and went to deal with
the guards. Doreen might be in their custody, but the job wasn’t
done yet. Still, Molly allowed herself a small grin.
They’d done it. As slippery a skip as Doreen was, Molly and her
sisters had tracked her down and captured her. They weren’t half-
bad at this bounty-hunting gig.
 Chapter 2

“Uh…Molly?” Norah’s eyes were wide as she stared at her laptop

screen, and her voice was apprehensive enough that Warrant, their
giant shaggy dog, lifted his head from where it had been resting on
Molly’s foot.
“Yes?” Molly prompted when Norah didn’t say anything but just
continued to stare at whatever was on her screen in horror.
“Are you absolutely sure this is a skip you want to chase?” Norah
asked as she finally dragged her gaze from the computer and looked
at Molly over the kitchen table.
“Of course I don’t want to chase him. Just looking at his mug shot
scares the snot out of me.” Leaning back in her chair, Molly tugged
out the hair band holding her ponytail, releasing the heavy fall of
dark hair to tumble down her back. She started twisting the straight,
silky strands into a thick braid just to give her fingers something to
do. “I don’t have much of a choice, though.”
Norah just blinked at her, waiting for her to continue.
“Cara gave her tuition money to Mom again.”
Comprehension lit Norah’s eyes even as she winced. “Isn’t there
any other option? What if we bring in more skips that aren’t quite
so”—her gaze flickered to her laptop again, and she made a face
—“bloodthirsty?”
 “Bloodthirsty?” Molly repeated, trying to sound amused even
though she wanted to run to her bedroom and hide under the covers
for the rest of the day. “Cameron Hall is not a pirate. He’s just a…”
“Armed robber?” Norah filled in the blank with more snap than she
usually had.
“Yeah.” Giving up the attempt to lighten the mood, Molly slumped
and played with the end of her braid. After a few seconds of
mournful self-pity, she straightened. “There’s no other option. We’re
still struggling to get enough jobs to pay the bills, and Cara needs
that money soon, or she’ll have to skip a semester.” Molly worried
that once Cara left school, even if it was only supposed to be
temporary, she would never be able to go back. There’d always be
another use for that tuition money, and Cara was too self-sacrificing
to fight for her dream. It was up to Molly and her other sisters to
make sure Cara’s future didn’t get trampled by everyone else—
especially their mother.
“It’ll be fine. This guy isn’t the brightest.”
Norah clucked, and the sound made Molly grin, despite everything.
Her little sister sounded so motherly sometimes. “Those are the
most dangerous because they rely on brute force to get themselves
out of situations.”
Her smile fading, Molly firmed her resolve. It would be too easy to
let Norah talk her out of going after Hall. After all, Norah was just
echoing what Molly’s common sense had been warning her
repeatedly for the past few weeks. This guy wasn’t one of her usual
low-level, nonviolent skips. He’d been willing to point a loaded gun
at someone in order to get what he wanted. It was reckless and
probably stupid for her to go after such a dangerous skip, but she’d
considered all the possible solutions, and this was the best one. The
only problem was that it was also the most potentially deadly.
 Shaking off her own doubts that she was ready to take this step,
Molly flattened her hands on the table and pushed to her feet, giving
Norah a level look. “I’m doing this. Will you help me minimize the
chance of my death and/or major injury?”
As Molly knew she would, Norah didn’t even pause before nodding.
“Of course I’ll help. I just want to go on the record and say this is a
really bad idea, and I wish you weren’t doing it.”
“Me too.” Molly sighed before moving to stand behind Norah.
“Okay, what do I need to know about this guy?”
“He has an ex-wife in Denver, an on-again, off-again girlfriend here
in Langston, and a couple of friends—one in Thornton and one in
Aurora. I just sent the addresses to your phone.”
“At least he’s staying in the Denver area.” Molly didn’t want to
involve any of her sisters, but she needed more eyes or she’d be
doing surveillance for months. “See if Charlie or Felicity can take a
couple of those. Tell them they’re just gathering information,
though. If I hear about either of them trying to take this guy in by
themselves, there’s going to be trouble.”
Norah raised her eyebrows. “But we’re supposed to just sit back
while you take this guy in instead?”
“Yes. I’m the oldest, so I get to be hypocritical like that.” She
patted her sister on the head when Norah frowned at her. “Which
place looks the most likely?”
Although Norah grumbled under her breath, she tapped the
girlfriend’s address.
“Perfect. That’s the closest.” Giving Norah a quick side hug, she
said, “Thank you for researching.”
As Molly crouched to give Warrant a belly rub, Norah crossed her
arms. “I really don’t think you should go after this guy.”
 “Yeah, me neither, but sometimes life sucks that way.” Giving the
dog a final pat, she straightened and headed for the door to the
garage. “I promise I’ll keep you updated if anything exciting
happens, but I’m sure I’m going to spend the day staring at an
empty house.”
Ignoring more unhappy rumblings from Norah, Molly grabbed her
bag and slipped into the garage. As much as she loved her sister, it
was a relief to be alone. It was much easier to ignore her brain’s
warnings when Norah wasn’t adding to the chorus.
The drive to Hall’s girlfriend’s place only took about ten minutes.
The neighborhood was an older one, and the house was only slightly
more run-down than its neighbors. The porch of the boxy two-story
was leaning to one side, giving the whole place a lopsided feel. The
tan paint had faded to a dirty beige, and the lawn was weedy and
sunbaked.
Molly passed the house and kept driving, making an effort not to
slow down in front of it and alert anyone of her interest. There
wasn’t a park or a playground nearby, somewhere she could linger
without arousing suspicion, but there were a number of older cars
parked along the side of the road. She circled the block and then
parked a few houses down in a spot that gave her a good view of
the front of the house. After taking down all the license plates of the
vehicles parked around her, as well as the SUV sitting in the
driveway, she settled in for a long, boring wait.
Barely a minute passed before the front door swung open, and
Molly snapped to attention. She was impressed by her timing.
Usually, surveillance involved a whole lot of nothing, but she wasn’t
going to complain about the excitement.
Still, she blinked with amazement as Hall stomped out. “It’s the
middle of the afternoon, my dude,” she muttered, her eyes fixed on
her target. “You skipped out on a huge bail. You should be holed up
somewhere, hiding out. What the heck are you doing?”
A woman’s yelling voice followed him out of the house. He turned
and shouted something rude and then ducked as what appeared to
be a wine bottle flew over his head and bounced a few times on the
weedy lawn. Hall swore and stomped toward the SUV in the
driveway. He backed quickly into the street, jerking the vehicle to a
halt just inches from the side of a parked car, and then blasted
forward, shooting off in the opposite direction.
Unable to believe her luck, Molly waited until he turned right at the
end of the block before pulling her car away from the curb. She
stayed as far back as possible without losing him as they made their
way through the mostly empty residential streets, and she breathed
a relieved sigh when he turned onto busy Baker Street. She merged
into traffic behind him, grateful that his SUV was an easy-to-spot
bright red.
When he turned into the parking lot of a liquor store, she made a
humming sound. “Not sure more alcohol will help the home
situation, buddy,” she muttered as she drove into the lot of the
grocery store a few buildings down. Parking toward the back, she
waited until Hall entered the liquor store before getting out of her
car and hurrying across the lots. The sun beat down on her exposed
head, and she twisted her braid into a low bun as she walked quickly
toward the store. If she’d known she’d be making contact with a skip
today, she would’ve secured her hair before she left the house.
There was no sense giving Hall something to grab if it came down to
a fight.
The buzz of adrenaline coursed through her, making her walk
bouncier than usual as she reached the front of the liquor store. Her
nerves were strung tighter than usual, but that made sense. Hall
was far more dangerous than her usual skip. Despite that, there was
no tremor in her hand as she reached for the door handle and pulled
it open.
The rush of air-conditioned coolness brushed her overheated skin
as she stepped inside. After the brightness of the summer sun, it
took her eyes a few seconds to adjust to the dimmer interior lights,
and she stood just inside the door until her vision brightened.
The store was mostly empty and almost eerily quiet. Her boots
didn’t make any noise as she walked across the worn industrial
carpet, which ramped up her nerves even more. The man behind the
counter didn’t look at her as she approached, keeping his gaze fixed
on the worn paperback in his hands. He flipped the page, the sound
loud in the hush.
As Molly glanced down each aisle, she remembered her toy-store
search a few weeks back. Although the mall crowds had made it
harder to chase Doreen, they’d also provided a sort of safety in
numbers. If Doreen had gotten the upper hand, there was a much
greater possibility of someone stepping in to help Molly out.
The light clank of glass bottles knocking against each other made
her jump, and she immediately scolded herself. This was not the
time to lose her nerve. She resumed her search, continuing to check
aisles as she moved toward the back of the store.
No one else was there. She reached the last aisle, straightening
her shoulders and spine in preparation. This was it. She hadn’t
expected to be taking down Cameron Hall today, but this was a
perfect setup. She took a moment and texted Norah, as well as two
of the sheriff’s deputies she often dealt with. As she waited for
responses, she lightly patted her pants pocket, feeling the weight of
a pair of handcuffs. In a pinch, she could immobilize a skip while she
waited for law enforcement to arrive, but Hall was a big, mean guy.
She didn’t want to take any chances on him. If she was going to
take this step and start bringing in the high-dollar—and more
dangerous—skips, she knew she had to be smart about it.
Otherwise, she could easily get hurt…or killed.
Blowing out a hard, silent breath, she started to step forward when
the bells hanging on the front door jangled, the unexpected sound
freezing her into place. Now, right before the takedown, someone
was going to wander in? Clicking her teeth together, she glanced
over her shoulder to see who’d just entered.
When she spotted the vaguely familiar face, she went still again.
The guy was tall, and broad, and just generally enormous, with dark
hair and eyes. The amused way he was looking at her, as if they
shared an inside joke, made her cock her head and try to figure out
where she’d seen him before. She pushed away the distraction and
focused as she turned into the final aisle. Now wasn’t the time to try
to puzzle out why the stranger looked familiar.
As soon as she moved around the endcap, Hall was right there,
striding toward her, looking like a mountain of a man. Between Hall
and the new guy, this liquor store seemed to attract only the most
enormous men in Langston. She put on an innocent expression as
he approached, and his gaze flicked over her appraisingly from her
feet to the top of her head and back down again. There was a slight
gleam of appreciation in his eyes, but his pace didn’t slow. Stepping
to the side, Molly allowed him to pass, knowing she couldn’t give
him any warning before pouncing, or he’d flick her off like an
annoying flea.
As soon as he passed, she pivoted toward him, reaching for his
arm with both hands and preparing to lift her knee to slam it into the
side of his thigh, right in the spot where the peroneal nerve sat.
 “Molly Pax!” a deep bass voice called, and she immediately
dropped her arms and her knee.
Whoever that was, he was going to die.
Hall automatically glanced back at her, and she forced a smile and
a slight shrug. His hard expression didn’t change, and she held back
a shiver.
“Molly!” The guy who’d just walked into the store was hurrying
toward her, his face alight, looking as if they were best friends.
“Wha—?” She didn’t even get the whole word out, much less the
question, before he enveloped her in the biggest, tightest bear hug
in the universe.
“Molly Pax, my favorite bounty hunter! What are you doing on this
side of town? I thought you went to Booze World for your hard
lemonades.” His arms tightened until she squeaked. She wasn’t just
going to kill him; she was going to dismember him and then kill him.
Not only had he distracted her just as she was starting her
takedown, but he’d completely outed her to the skip.
Prying her face away from the broad and admittedly nicely
muscled chest, she glared up at him. “Let go of me, you oversize
doofus! You have the wrong person. I don’t know you!”
Turning her head, she saw her denial hadn’t had any apparent
effect on Cameron Hall. His whole body radiated fury as he stalked
toward the checkout.
“Seriously, what are you doing?” she hissed, breaking out of his
bear hug and charging after Hall. Now that he knew her name and
what she looked like, this was her only chance to bring him in. Hall
would never let her get close enough again. As apprehensive as
she’d been about going after him, she wasn’t about to fail.
“How can you say that, Molly?” The handsome stranger obviously
wasn’t about to quit. She briefly considered grabbing one of the
bottles of Jim Beam from the display next to them and cracking him
over the head. Maybe then he’d be quiet…at least until he regained
consciousness.
“Stop it,” she hissed over her shoulder before running to catch up
to Hall, who was just a couple steps away from the register. The
clerk was ignoring all the commotion, still caught up in his book.
Glancing over his shoulder, Hall grimaced as he dropped the six-
pack of beer and two bottles of wine he’d been holding. The bottles
crashed to the floor as Hall spun around, reaching toward the back
waistband of his jeans. Molly knew exactly what he was doing. He
was going for his gun.
“Hey! You’re going to have to pay for those!” the cashier
demanded, jerking up straight.
Molly leapt toward Hall in a last-ditch effort to save the situation,
hoping to take him down before he started shooting, but she was
plucked out of the air mid-tackle and hauled behind a display of
vodka before she could reach him.
“I’m not paying for those,” Hall snarled. Although Molly couldn’t
see what was happening, she heard the clerk whimper. “You’re
paying me. Empty the till. Now! Move!”
Molly tried to move, to go help the cashier, but there were still two
boa-constrictor-size arms wrapped around her middle.
“What in the freaking world are you doing, weirdo?” she whisper-
yelled, elbowing the stranger in the midsection and taking grim
pleasure in his grunt as she connected. “Let go!” His hold loosened,
allowing her to wiggle free.
“He has a gun!” the man hissed. “Stay here and stay down.” Not
waiting to see if she followed his commands, he moved quickly but
quietly to the end of the aisle and slipped out of sight.
 “I know he has a gun,” Molly grumbled, even though he couldn’t
hear. “He was arrested for armed robbery. Of course he’s carrying a
gun.”
Even as she muttered under her breath, trying to pretend her
heart wasn’t trying to beat out of her chest, she crouched low and
peered around the endcap. All she could see was Hall’s back, and
she grimaced. She could only assume he had the gun trained on the
clerk, and trying to take him down now could get the poor guy shot.
As she watched, Hall’s gaze jumped around—looking for her and
the grabby stranger, Molly assumed. She shifted out of his line of
sight and tapped out a text to the deputies as quietly as possible,
updating them on the situation and asking if they could speed up
their arrival. Tucking her phone back in her pocket, she returned to
the end of the aisle. Staying as low as possible, she shifted until she
could barely see Hall through the bottles of vodka, waiting until he
turned to look behind him. As he turned, the gun shifted as well,
rotating with his body until it was pointing away from the clerk.
Even as her brain screamed What are you doing? Molly launched
herself out of her concealed spot, driving herself forward as she
aimed for the weapon. Her hands latched around Hall’s wrist,
dragging down his arm as the gun went off, the expected roar
sounding like a mere pop to her ears.
Grabbing the barrel with one hand, she jerked it upward, and Hall
gave a sharp scream as his fingers snapped. His grip loosened, and
she yanked the gun free, tossing it away from them. A fist glanced
off her temple, knocking her head to the side. Hall had punched her
with his other, unbroken hand, but the angle was awkward, not
giving him the force he needed to really hurt her. Before he could
give it another try, she gave him a palm strike to the chin, knocking
his teeth together with an audible clack.
 He yelled, shaking off the hit and bunching his fist, shoving her
against the wall. Her back hit painfully against the edge of a shelf,
and she swallowed a yelp. Before she could recover, his forearm
pressed across her throat, pinning her. She forced herself to hold
still, to not fight the thick arm currently blocking her airflow. As fast
as her heart was beating, it didn’t take long for bright sparks to dot
her vision, but she still struggled to wait for her chance to knee him
in a sensitive spot.
There was a roar behind them, and then the arm across her throat
was gone. Sucking in painful, rough breaths, she blinked the
sparkles out of her eyes, staring as the stranger threw—literally
threw—Hall into a display of chip bags.
“Whoa,” she said, blinking, and then snapped out of her fog as the
wail of approaching sirens grew steadily louder. She wasn’t about to
have gone through all of this and not get Hall’s bounty. Shaking her
head to get rid of the odd floating feeling, she pounced, rolling a
groaning Hall from his side to his stomach and cranking his left hand
behind his back as she settled a knee against his spine.
The stranger watched her, his furiously protective expression
slowly returning to a more neutral one.
“You okay?” he asked.
She gave him her best you’ve got to be kidding look. “No thanks to
you. What was all that?” Since her hands were occupied with
keeping a still-dazed Hall in place, she jerked her head toward the
far aisle where the doofus had blown her entire plan out of the
water.
Now the guy was looking irritated at her—at her! “I was saving you
from getting shot. Don’t you know who he is?”
“Of course I do.” She frowned back at him, ignoring the noises
coming from the traumatized clerk. From the sound of it, the poor
guy was throwing up his lunch behind the counter. “Do you think I
just drag random people back to jail?”
His frown deepened as he propped his fists on his hips. “If you
knew that was Hall, why’d you go after him? You only pick up the
nonviolent skips.”
“Who are you, and how do you know that?”
Before he could answer, two deputies—Molly recognized them as
Darren and Maria—burst into the store with guns drawn. After they
took in the situation, Darren holstered his weapon.
“Is that Cameron Hall?” he asked the stranger. “Nice catch.”
“Hey!” There was no way Molly was about to let him get credit for
bringing in her skip. “He’s my nice catch, Darren. Me. The one sitting
on him.”
To her annoyance, the deputy gave the stranger a questioning
look. If she’d had a free hand and a convenient projectile, she
would’ve thrown something.
“Yeah, he’s hers,” the stranger agreed, surprising her. So far in
their short acquaintance, he hadn’t gone out of his way to make her
life easier. “It was impressive.”
“His gun’s over there.” Molly dipped her head toward the weapon.
“I tossed it after I disarmed him.” She gave Darren a glare.
“Sorry.” He gave her an apologetic shrug as he moved to cuff Hall,
who’d been oddly quiet. As Molly moved off of him, she saw that
he’d passed out.
“Uh-huh.” She wasn’t feeling too forgiving at the moment. Her
neck hurt. “Careful with his right hand. I broke his fingers disarming
him—Cameron Hall, the skip that I just took down all by myself, with
no help from any random weirdos.”
“Hey, I helped.” The stranger sounded more amused than put out,
though.
 Fine. She had to give him that much. “After you mucked
everything up.” She tried to hold on to her annoyance, but the idea
that she’d done it was finally sinking in. She’d brought in Cameron
Hall, a skip with a bounty large enough to pay for a whole year of
Cara’s tuition.
“I was trying to keep you from being killed.” Leaning back against
the counter, the stranger crossed his arms over his chest, and Molly
struggled even more to hold her scowl. Did guys learn to do that, to
make their biceps bulge in that specific way? Was there some kind of
class?
Shaking off her distraction, she focused on holding his gaze. “I can
do that just fine by myself. Who are you, anyway, and how do you
know my name—and what kind of skips I go after?”
“John Carmondy.” His smile was slow, curling up at the edges
before it spread to his cheeks, revealing a killer pair of dimples.
“Fellow bounty hunter.”
Tipping her head back, she groaned. Of course he was. Everything
was so much clearer now. Reopening her eyes, she directed a stern
look at him. “Were you trying to steal my skip?”
“Of course not.” She would’ve believed he was actually offended by
her accusation if it wasn’t for the amusement hidden in his voice. “I
don’t have to steal them.”
“Uh-huh.” She tried to make it clear that she didn’t believe him.
“You just happened to be in here, shouting my name and letting him
know that I’m a bounty hunter. Are you a dirty cheater, John
Carmondy? Because that’s what it looks like.”
“I am not a dirty cheater.”
“Mmm-hmm.”
His eyes gleamed with amusement. “I have never cheated. I was
helping you. Bounty hunter to bounty hunter. Brother to sister—in
the most hypothetical sense, of course. You barely needed my help,
though. I’m impressed.”
Despite herself, his compliment made her glow. She’d actually
done it. She’d taken down Cameron Hall and proven that she could
earn the big payouts. As much as she wanted to continue reveling in
that, though, she had paperwork to complete and a bounty to claim.
Turning toward the door, she couldn’t keep the enormous,
triumphant grin off her face. “I need to go get my hard-earned
money. We’ll see you around, John Carmondy.”
“Count on it, Molly Pax.”
 Chapter 3

“So…wait.” Norah frowned when Molly finished telling her sisters a

mildly edited version of the day’s events. If they knew how close
she’d come to being shot and/or beaten, they’d be upset, and Molly
tried very hard to keep her sisters content. After all the nonsense
their mom had put them through growing up, they deserved to be
happy. “Was he helping or not?”
“If he was, he’s the worst helper in the world,” Molly said, the last
couple of words swallowed in a yawn. “He sure is pretty, though.”
Charlie and Cara exchanged what Molly called their “silent twin
speech” look. “You like him?” Cara asked carefully.
“Of course not. He’s ridiculous. I just found him objectively
aesthetically appealing.”
“Riiiight.” Felicity drew out the word in the most sarcastic way
possible, and Molly tried to glare her into submission, but it wasn’t
working. She was too sleepy and drained and satisfied to hold her
annoyance, and her frown quickly shifted back to a smile.
“The important thing is that Cara has her tuition money back,”
Molly said as Cara looked both stricken and hopeful.
“I can’t—”
“Nope.”
“But there’s—”
 “You’re going back to school,” Molly said with finality. “I’ll keep it in
my account, and that way, you can honestly tell Mom that you don’t
have any money.”
Cara blinked, the stricken look fading until only hope remained.
“I’m going to pay you back.”
“Please.” Molly flipped a hand at her. “You work so many hours, I
owe you money.”
As Cara’s eyes began to gleam with the start of grateful tears,
Molly stood up, swaying slightly.
“You can be emotional tomorrow. Tonight, I’m going to take an
extra-long shower, then I’m going to bed. I’m going to sleep for a
minimum of twelve hours, and I will most likely have something
frosted and bad for me for breakfast tomorrow.”
Blinking rapidly, Cara smiled. “Sounds like a plan. I’m going to
register for classes.”
The excitement in her sister’s voice sent another ping of joy
through Molly. As she dragged herself upstairs, her brain was full of
thoughts. The business was succeeding—only just, but that was
better than being in the red. Cara wouldn’t miss any school, Charlie
and Felicity were ecstatic to keep chasing and tackling skips, and
Norah loved to research and play with their tech. Warrant was just
happy to fall asleep under the table and use someone’s foot as a
pillow.
Things were good.
So why couldn’t she stop thinking about John Carmondy?
Forget him, the practical voice in her head ordered. You probably
won’t ever see him again.
She gave a determined nod, ignoring the niggling feeling that she
was just fooling herself. John Carmondy, with his stupid muscles and
dimples and wicked sense of humor, would not be so easy to forget.
 About the Author

A graduate of the police academy, Katie Ruggle is a self-proclaimed

forensics nerd. A fan of anything that makes her feel like a badass,
she has trained in Krav Maga, boxing, and gymnastics; has lived in
an off-grid solar- and wind-powered house in the Rocky Mountains;
rides horses; trains her three dogs; and travels to warm places to
scuba dive. You can visit her at katieruggle.com.
 In Her Sights
Meet a band of bounty hunter sisters…and the men
who steal their hearts.

Bounty hunter Molly Pax fought hard for everything she has. But
now every two-bit criminal in the Rockies sees her family’s latest
misfortune as their next big break and she needs help, stat. Enter
rival bounty hunter John Carmondy: six feet of pure trouble, with a
cocky grin to match. John’s the most cheerfully, annoyingly gorgeous
frenemy Molly’s ever had…and he may be her only hope of making it
out of this mess alive.

“Vivid and charming.”

—Charlaine Harris, #1 New York Times bestselling author

For more, visit:

amazon.com
 Deep Blue
A Survival Instincts Novella
Adriana Anders
 To my brothers.
Heroes in their own ways.
 Chapter 1

Zoe shouldn’t have come out to the oil platform alone.

How many times had Jane warned her? How many times had she
promised her partner that she wouldn’t scuba dive offshore rigs on
her own? But she’d done it before, and she’d do it again.
Unless, of course, this time was her last.
Crap.
Eighty-five feet beneath the surface of the water, she spun, taking
in details she hadn’t noticed above. The absolute stillness was
disquieting, when usually the water around the rig’s coral- and
crustacean-coated legs was teeming with life. The sea turtles and
tiny reef fish that always investigated her presence were nowhere to
be seen. The only sound was her own breathing as she sucked air
from the tank, the only movements the gentle swish of sea anemone
and the flurry of bubbles rising from her mouth.
The flat, washed-out blue she usually found so calming looked
dead without the flash of garibaldi dashing between the old oil
platform’s maze of support beams like playful orange flames. Usually
they’d be swarming, but today…nothing.
It was Sea Lion Bob’s absence that transformed her sense of
general unease into full-blown worry, however. He’d greeted her
every time she’d come to check the Polaris platform reef.
Something was very wrong.
 Get out of here, her instincts screamed, even as her training forced
her to relax. A slow inhale, the sound thin under the weight of the
water, and a kick up, as languid as she could make it with the panic
weighing her limbs down. A long exhale churned the water above,
and she added bubbles to the mix by venting enough air to rise
slowly.
Relax. Stay calm.
Why hadn’t she paid attention to the niggling in her belly as she’d
driven her boat toward the platform? It was impossible to pinpoint
exactly when the feeling had started or what had set it off, but it
was undeniable. Funny how fear changed things. It turned the
platform’s shell-encrusted support beams into a phantom forest. The
pinks and purples, leached of all color, were the wan gray of death.
I’ll never come alone again, she promised the Fates or God or the
ocean itself.
As she slowly ascended, her eyes searched feverishly for some clue
as to what had turned a busy, dynamic reef into a foggy, blue ghost
town.
Had she missed something on the trip out here?
She remembered passing the two working platforms closer inland.
Nothing strange there. A few miles farther out, just before San Elias
Island, she’d spotted the Daphne and drawn her boat up alongside
her, as she did nearly every time she came this way. Blushing, of
course. Always blushing with that guy.
“Hey, Eric.”
Slow as syrup, he had leaned against the rail of his boat, lean body
indolent-looking, though his face remained serious as always.
“Evening, Zoe. Kinda late today, aren’t you?”
She had shrugged, working hard to keep her gaze above chest
level so she wouldn’t stare. What was it about this guy that made
her want to eat him up with her eyes? He wasn’t even her usual
type, which was dark and intellectual. No, this guy had Paul Newman
good looks, with the build of a roughneck. She’d bet anything his
hands were as coarse as his voice.
“Yeah,” she’d managed to shout against the wind. “Been a couple
weeks since I checked in on Polaris.”
“I noticed,” he’d said without the hint of a smile.
The words—straight, serious, and a touch accusatory—did things
to her. Good God, what was wrong with her? Those two innocuous
words made her heart race more than anything she’d done with her
last boyfriend. Ridiculous, considering that Eric showed no more
interest in her than in his fishing pole.
Besides, she knew absolutely nothing about him.
“All right.” She reached forward to pull the throttle out, but
stopped at his next words.
“You alone today?”
“Yeah,” she had to admit. “Jane’s not—”
“You diving the rig?”
“Yes.” She had sounded defensive. Weird how that came back to
her now, with a hiccup of embarrassment.
The lines around his mouth tightened, his too-blue eyes narrowed,
and he nodded once, quick and short.
“Careful. Weather headed our way.”
When his worry warmed her insides instead of sparking a snarky
Yes, sir, she’d known she should get out of there. Throwing him a
smile and a wave, she’d taken off as fast as she could. Everything
about the man said trouble—for her, at least. Oh, he’d always been
friendly and respectful, but it was the unspoken stuff that got to her,
like the hungry way he eyed her or, much more worrisome, the way
that look lit her up inside.
 She should have listened to his warning about weather, should
have turned around right there and headed back to the mainland.
Or, even better, she should have paused there longer, flirted a bit,
maybe even screwed up the courage to finally ask him out.
But she hadn’t. And now she was pushing back the panic and
slowly working through the eerie calm to the surface, which seemed
to be getting farther away with every kick of her fins.
Inhale…stop kicking. Loosen up. Be big. Exhale…
BOOM!
The sound hit her, and she threw up her hands to cover her ears.
Less than a second later, the rig’s supports shook, releasing a
blinding dust cloud that could mean only one thing—earthquake.
Oh God, oh God, oh God. At fifteen feet below the surface, she
fought the desire to head all the way up and counted down the
seconds for her three-minute safety stop.
Calm down. I’m better off in the water than on land.
Not if the platform collapsed.
She’d never been scared like this on a dive, never shivered so hard
underwater.
BOOM!
Another gray puff billowed from the platform, joining the dust
rising from the depths like smoke from a forest fire.
She didn’t have to check her gauge to know she was running low
on air.
Yeah, I’m done here.
When she broke the surface by the westernmost leg of the
platform, she yanked off her mask and smelled it immediately—some
kind of exhaust. Far above, an engine hummed, low and even, with
regular metallic clangs.
 It took about two seconds for everything to clarify. Not an
earthquake.
The relief was palpable…and short-lived.
Zoe strained to peer up at the rusting monstrosity rising above the
waves. Crap. Were they recommissioning this rig? No. No way. Not
possible. It was too old; the wells were tapped out. The company
had given her nonprofit permission to turn the Polaris into a reef. But
the drill couldn’t very well power itself.
Had Bob, the missing sea lion, somehow climbed his way up the
creaking metal and set something off?
The idea was ridiculous, but Zoe had to investigate. What if he was
stuck or hurt? Besides, that made more sense than someone
returning to drill an empty well.
Heart beating too fast, she swam back to her boat, dropped off her
scuba gear, and returned to the metal leg that provided the only
easy way up to the platform. She could hop up a few feet and then
climb the ladder, if needed. Bob had made it up to the lowest level
once. If he was there now, he could be stuck, sick, or dying. That
thought made her move faster, a little frantic.
She pushed up onto her palms, hefted herself onto the low shelf—
sharp and spiked with her beloved sea life—and squinted across to
the other legs. The metal rumbled under her feet.
No sea lion.
Where was he? She glanced up and got a face full of grime—hard
little specks of rust raining down with every angry clang of the
machine. Bob would hate this noise. She couldn’t stand the idea of
him being around here somewhere, alone, freaking out at this attack
on his home.
Zoe set her mouth and wrapped her hands around the rungs. Find
Bob, if he was around. Then figure out what the hell was going on
Another random document with
no related content on Scribd:
species of Trilobites belonging to 39 genera ranging from Lower
Cambrian to Carboniferous.
A “metastoma” or lower lip plate (Fig. 142, Ep) is found just
behind the hypostome in Triarthrus, but has not been noticed in any
other genus. Between the hypostome and the metastoma lies the
mouth.
The segments of the thorax are free, and their number varies
from two in Agnostus (Fig. 146) to twenty-six in Harpes (Fig. 150,
A). In the Trilobites confined to the Cambrian period the number
(except in the Agnostidae) is usually larger than in the genera found
in the Ordovician and later periods. Owing to the free thoracic
segments many Trilobites were able to curl up somewhat after the
manner of a Wood-louse (Figs. 137, D, 138). The axial part of each
thoracic segment is more or less considerably arched. Usually it
consists of three parts: (i.) the largest part (Fig. 137, C, a), called the
ring, is band-like in form, and is always visible whether the Trilobite
is extended or coiled up; (ii.) in front of the ring is a depressed,
groove-like part (Fig. 137, C, b) separating it from (iii.) the articular
portion (c) which is convex in front and extends beneath the ring of
the preceding segment; this part is only visible when the Trilobite is
coiled up or when the segments are separated. In some few genera
the axial part consists of a simple arched band without either a
groove or a specially modified articular portion. The pleurae (Fig.
137, A, l, C, d-f) are fixed firmly to the axis, and have the form of
narrow bands with the ends rounded, obtuse, pointed, or spinose. In
a few cases the pleurae have a plain surface; but usually they possess
either a ridge or a groove (Fig. 137, C, g); the former is generally
parallel to the margins of the pleura, the latter is generally oblique,
being inclined backwards from the axis. Sometimes in front of the
ridge there is a small groove. On the ventral surface each pleura
shows, at its outer extremity, a reflexed margin or doublure. At some
distance from the axis the pleurae are bent downwards and
backwards. The point where this bend occurs is called the “fulcrum”
(e); it divides the pleura into an internal and an external part: the
internal part (d-e) is flat or slightly convex, and just touches the front
and back margins of the adjacent pleurae; the external part (e-f) may
be (i.) narrower than the internal part, so that it is separated from
the previous and succeeding pleurae; such occurs principally in
pleurae with ridges, as in Cheirurus and Bronteus; or (ii.) it may be
in the form of a long cylindrical process, as in many species of
Acidaspis; or (iii.) the external part may be of the same width, either
throughout or in part, as the internal part, and may overlap the next
pleura behind; this type is found principally in pleurae with a groove
such as in Phacops, Calymene, Sao, Asaphus, Ellipsocephalus.
In some Trilobites there is beyond the fulcrum a smooth, flat,
triangular part at the front margin of the pleura; this part is known
as the “facet,” and forms a surface articulating with the preceding
segment which overlaps it.
In the remarkable form Deiphon (Fig. 151, E) the pleurae are
separate throughout their entire length.
In some Trilobites broad and narrow forms of the same species
occur—the difference being seen especially in the axis. The former
are regarded as females, the latter as males.[190]
The segments of the abdomen or pygidium (Fig. 137, A, 3) are
similar to those of the thorax, except that they are fused together. In
a few forms, such as Illaenus (Fig. 150, F) and Bumastus, the fusion
is so complete that no trace of segmentation can be seen on the
dorsal surface. Usually, however, the segments are easily
distinguishable; the number seen on the axis is commonly greater
than on the lateral parts of the pygidium; this difference is
particularly well shown in Encrinurus. In Trilobites which have
grooved pleurae the conspicuous grooves seen on the lateral parts of
the pygidium are the grooves of the pleurae, the sutures between the
pleurae being less distinct. The shape of the pygidium may be
semicircular, a segment of a circle, trapezoidal, triangular, semi-
parabolic, etc.; its size varies considerably; in the Cambrian forms it
is usually small, but in the Trilobites of later periods it becomes
relatively larger. The number of segments in the pygidium varies
from two to twenty-eight. The axis of the pygidium tapers more
rapidly than that of the thorax; sometimes it reaches quite to the
posterior end of the body, but is commonly shorter than the
pygidium; in Bronteus it is extremely short, and the grooves on the
lateral parts of the pygidium radiate from it in a fan-like manner.
Occasionally, as in Bumastus, the axis cannot be distinguished from
the lateral parts. In a few early Trilobites (Olenellus, Holmia, Fig.
148, Paradoxides, Fig. 147) the lateral parts of the pygidium are very
small. In some genera, such as Asaphus, the marginal part of the
pygidium forms a flattened or concave border. The margin may be
entire or produced into spines, and sometimes (Fig. 151, C) a caudal
spine comes off from the end of the axis. On the ventral surface of
the pygidium there is a marginal rim similar to the doublure of the
cephalic shield. The anus is on the ventral surface of the last segment
of the pygidium.
Although Trilobites are often found in abundance and in an
excellent state of preservation, it is only in very rare cases that
anything is seen of the ventral surface except the hypostome and the
reflexed borders of the cephalic shield, of the thoracic segments, and
of the pygidium. The usual absence of appendages is probably due
to their tenuity. Billings, in 1870, first obtained clear evidence of the
presence of pairs of appendages, in Asaphus platycephalus. Soon
afterwards Walcott[191] showed their existence in American
specimens of Asaphus megistos, Calymene senaria, and Cheirurus
pleurexacanthus. In the two latter species the appendages were
found by cutting sections of curled-up specimens obtained from the
Trenton Limestone; 2200 examples were sliced, of which 270
showed evidence of the existence of appendages. They were seen to
be present on the head, thorax, and pygidium; a ventral uncalcified
cuticle with transverse arches was also found. By means of sections
of curled-up specimens it was difficult to determine satisfactorily the
form and position of the appendages. Subsequently extended
specimens of Triarthrus (Fig. 142) and Trinucleus, showing the
ventral surface and appendages clearly, were discovered in the Utica
Slate (Ordovician) near Rome, New York. A full account of the
appendages in those specimens has been given by Beecher.[192]
In Triarthrus each segment, except the anal, bears a pair of
appendages, all of which, except the first, are biramous. There are
five pairs of cephalic appendages; the first pair are attached at each
side of the hypostome, and have the structure of antennae, each
consisting of a single flagellum formed of short conical joints. The
other cephalic appendages increase in size successively. At present
the second and third pairs are not satisfactorily known, but appear to
have been similar to the fourth and fifth pairs. The second pair is
attached at the level of the posterior end of the hypostome. The
fourth and fifth pairs have large, triangular coxopodites which served
as gnathobases, their inner edges
being denticulate; the
endopodites consist of stout
joints; the exopodites are slender,
and bear setae which are often
arranged in a fan-like manner.
The first pair of appendages
appear to be antennules, whilst
the second pair probably
represent the antennae, the third
pair the mandibles, and the
fourth and fifth pairs the maxillae
of other Crustacea. The
appendages of the thorax and
pygidium do not differ essentially
from the two posterior cephalic
appendages. Those on the
anterior part of the thorax are the
longest; the others gradually
decrease in size in passing
posteriorly. Each thoracic leg
(Fig. 142, B) consists of a short
coxopodite with an inward
cylindrical prolongation forming
a gnathobase which is best
developed on the anterior legs;
the endopodite and exopodite are
long and nearly equal; the former
consists of six joints tapering
gradually to the end; the latter, of Fig. 142.—Triarthrus becki, Green, ×
a long proximal joint with a 2½. Utica Slate (Ordovician), near
denticulate edge and a distal part Rome, New York. A, Ventral surface
of ten or more joints, and it bears with appendages; Ep, metastome; Hy,
hypostome. B, second thoracic
a row of setae along the whole of appendage; en, endopodite; ex,
the posterior edge. exopodite, × 12. (After Beecher.)
The anterior appendages of the
pygidium differ but little from the
posterior thoracic legs; but the phyllopodous character, which
appears in the latter, becomes more distinct in the appendages of the
pygidium, especially those near its posterior end, and is due to the
broad, flat, laminar joints of the endopodite.
The more striking features of the appendages of Triarthrus are the
small amount of differentiation which they show in different parts of
the body, especially the want of specialisation in the cephalic region;
the distinctly biramous character of all except the first pair; and the
presence of one pair of functional antennae only, and the occurrence
of thoracic gnathobases.
In Trinucleus the appendages are not so well known, but they are
considerably shorter than in Triarthrus.
In the Palaeozoic rocks of Bohemia, where Trilobites are very
perfectly preserved, Barrande[193] discovered the larval forms of
several species, and in some cases was able to trace out the
development very completely, but in others the earliest stages were
not found. In the strata in which Trilobites occur Barrande found
minute spheroidal bodies, usually of a black colour, and only a little
smaller than the youngest larval stages; those bodies are probably
the eggs of Trilobites. Since the publication of Barrande’s work the
development of some species found in North America has been
studied by Ford, Matthew, Walcott, and Beecher. But even now the
development is known in only a very small proportion of the total
number of genera of Trilobites. The early larval form (Fig. 143, A) is
similar in general character in the various species in which it has
been found. It is circular or ovoid in outline, with a length of from
0·4 to 1 mm., and consists of a large cephalic and a small pygidial
portion; the axis is distinct and usually shows more or less clear
indications of five cephalic segments; the eyes, when present, are
found at or near the front margin, and the free cheeks, if visible at all
on the dorsal surface, are narrow. For this early larval form Beecher
has proposed the name “protaspis”; he regards it as the
representative of the Nauplius of other Crustacea, but that view is
not accepted by Professor J. S. Kingsley.[194]
The general changes which occur in the course of development are:
modifications in the shape and relative size of the glabella, and of the
number and depth of the glabella-furrows; the growth of the free
cheeks and the consequent inward movement of the facial sutures
and eyes; the introduction of and gradual increase in number of the
thoracic segments, and the relative decrease in size of the head.
Sao hirsuta is a species found
in the Cambrian, the
development of which was fully
described by Barrande. Its
earliest protaspis stage (Fig. 143,
A) is circular in outline; the
glabella expands in front and
reaches the anterior margin; the
pygidial region is not distinctly
separated from the cephalic
Fig. 143.—Development of Sao hirsuta,
Barr. Cambrian. A, Protaspis; B-F,
region; segmentation is indicated
later stages; G, adult. The small in the former, and the neck-ring
outlines below each figure show the is present in the latter; the eye-
actual size of each specimen. (After line is seen on each side of the
Barrande.) glabella near the anterior margin.
In a later stage (Fig. 143, C) the
segmentation of the glabella becomes more distinct, indicating the
existence of five cephalic segments, and the facial suture appears
near the margin limiting a very narrow free cheek. Subsequently
(Fig. 143, D-F) the thoracic segments develop, and increase in
number until the adult stage (G) is reached; also the eyes appear at
the margin of the cephalic shield, and gradually move inwards, and
the glabella becomes narrower and rounded in front, and ceases to
reach the anterior margin. In this species the eye-line is present in
the adult.
In the protaspis of Triarthrus (Fig. 144), found in the Ordovician,
the glabella does not reach the front margin nor expand in front as it
does in Sao; an eye-line is present, but disappears before the adult
stage is reached.
 Fig. 144.—Triarthrus becki, Green.
Ordovician. A, B, Two successive stages
of the protaspis, × 45. (After Beecher.)

Fig. 145.—Larval stages of Trilobites. A-D, Dalmanites socialis,

Barr. Ordovician, Bohemia. The small figures below show the
natural size of each specimen. (After Barrande.) E, Mesonacis
asaphoides, Emmons, × 10. Lower Cambrian, North America.
(After Walcott.) F, Acidaspis tuberculata, Conrad, × 20. Lower
Helderberg Group (Lower Devonian or Upper Silurian), Albany
County. (After Beecher.)
 Dalmanites (Fig. 151, C) is a more advanced type than Sao and
Triarthrus, and is found in later deposits. In the earliest stage (Fig.
145, A) the head and pygidium are quite distinct, and there is no eye-
line present at this or any stage in development, but large ovoid eyes
are found on the front margin, and have their long axes placed
transversely to the axis of the body; the glabella is strongly
segmented and is rounded in front. In later stages (C, D) the
pygidium increases in size relatively, and the thoracic segments are
successively introduced; the facial sutures and free cheeks appear on
the dorsal surface, and as the free cheeks grow the eyes move
inwards and backwards, and gradually swing round until their long
axes become parallel with the axis of the body.
The larval form of Acidaspis (Fig. 145, F) is of interest since even
in the earliest stage it shows the spiny character which forms such a
striking feature of the adult (Fig. 151, F).
Before the discovery of the ventral surface of Trilobites it was
thought by some zoologists that their affinities were with the
Xiphosura rather than with the Crustacea. But the presence of
antennae, and of five pairs of cephalic appendages; the biramous
thoracic and pygidial appendages, the hypostome, and the character
of the larval form, as well as the absence of a genital operculum,
separate the Trilobites from the Xiphosura and connect them with
the Crustacea.
The position of the Trilobites in the Crustacea is, however, difficult
to determine. Already in the Cambrian period, at least five main
groups of the Crustacea were clearly differentiated, namely, the
Phyllopoda, Ostracoda, Cirripedia, Trilobita, and Leptostraca
(Phyllocarida), and probably also the Copepoda, but of the last no
remains have been preserved as fossils. Palaeontology, therefore,
furnishes no connecting links between any two of these orders.
The Crustacea to which the Trilobites show some resemblance are
the families Apodidae and Branchipodidae of the Order Phyllopoda
(see pp. 19–36). The Trilobita agree with those families in having a
large but variable number of trunk-segments, in the possession of a
large labrum (hypostome), and in the occurrence of gnathobases on
the thoracic appendages; also the foliation of some of the trunk-
appendages is somewhat similar. The points of difference, however,
are considerable; thus the cephalic appendages are much more
specialised in the Apodidae and Branchipodidae than in the
Trilobita; in the latter all, with the exception of the antennae, are
distinctly biramous, and whilst the basal joints were masticatory the
distal parts appear to have been locomotor organs. The appendages
of the trunk also differ considerably; in the Trilobita all are clearly
biramous, those of the thorax having a schizopodal form. In the
possession of a single pair of antennae the Trilobita differ from other
Crustacea; but in some forms of Apus the second pair of antennae
may be rudimentary or even absent.
There are still other features which characterise the Trilobita: thus
the eyes are borne on free cheeks, and differ in structure from those
of Phyllopods. The broad pygidium formed of fused segments and
without terminal fulcra is quite unlike the slender-jointed abdomen
of Apus and Branchipus; and whilst in the Trilobites all the segments
bear appendages, in the Phyllopods some, at any rate, of the
posterior segments are devoid of appendages. The distinct division of
the body into an axial and pleural region is not seen in Phyllopods,
and is probably a character of some importance, since it occurs in the
great majority of Trilobites, including all the early forms.
The existence of some relationship between the Trilobita and the
Leptostraca (Phyllocarida) has been maintained by Professor G. H.
Carpenter.[195] He points out that some of the earliest Trilobites, such
as Holmia kjerulfi (Fig. 148), possess nearly the same number of
segments as Nebalia (Fig. 76, p. 111), and that in the latter genus the
cephalic appendages, especially the mandibles and maxillae, are less
specialised than in Apus, and consequently differ less from those of
Trilobites than do the appendages of the Apodidae. Further, in
another genus of the Leptostraca, Paranebalia, the biramous
thoracic legs, in which both endopodite and exopodite are elongate,
approach those of Trilobites more nearly than do the thoracic legs of
Apus.
The view[196] that some connexion may exist between the Isopoda
and the Trilobita seems to have been based on the similar dorso-
ventral flattening of the body, its division into three regions—head,
thorax, and abdomen—and the presence of sessile eyes. Beyond this
it is difficult to find any resemblance; whilst the differences, such as
the variable number of thoracic segments and their biramous
appendages in Trilobites, are important.
 At present, then, we can only conclude that the Trilobita are more
primitive than any other Crustacea, and that their resemblance to
some of the Phyllopoda is sufficient to make it probable that they had
some ancestral connexion;[197] the possibility of such a relationship
receives some support from the presence in the Lower Cambrian
rocks of Protocaris, a genus of the Phyllopoda which resembles
Apus.[198] The primitive characters of Trilobites are the variable and
often large number of segments in the thorax and pygidium; the
presence of a pair of appendages on every segment except the anal;
the biramous form of all except the first pair of appendages; and the
lack of specialisation shown by the appendages, especially those of
the head.
The classification of Trilobites is due largely to the work of
Barrande and Salter, and the families defined by those authors have
been, in the main, generally adopted. But the phylogenetic
relationship of the families has still, to a large extent, to be
established. Salter[199] arranged the families in four groups, but did
not claim that that classification was entirely natural. His groups
with the families included in each are:—
1. Agnostini. Without eyes or facial suture. Agnostidae.
2. Ampycini. Facial sutures obscure, or submarginal, or absent.
Eyes often absent. Trinucleidae.
3. Asaphini. Facial sutures ending on the posterior margin.
Acidaspidae, Lichadidae, Harpedidae, Calymenidae, Paradoxidae,
Conocephalidae, Olenidae, Asaphidae, Bronteidae, and Proëtidae.
4. Phacopini. Facial sutures ending on the lateral margins. Eyes
well developed. Phacopidae, Cheiruridae, and Encrinuridae.
A modification of Salter’s classification has been brought forward
by Beecher[200] who divides the Trilobita into three main groups:—
1. Hypoparia. Facial sutures at or near the margin, or ventral.
Compound eyes absent. This is equivalent to Salter’s Agnostini and
Ampycini with the addition of the Harpedidae.
2. Opisthoparia. Facial sutures extending from the posterior
margin to the front margin, but occasionally uniting in front of the
glabella. Eyes holochroal or prismatic, but sometimes absent. This
comprises the same families as Salter’s Asaphini with the exclusion
of the Harpedidae and Calymenidae.
 3. Proparia. Facial sutures extending from the lateral margins,
and either cutting the anterior margin or uniting in front of the
glabella. Eyes holochroal or schizochroal; occasionally absent. This is
equivalent to Salter’s Phacopini with the addition of the
Calymenidae.
In each of the groups proposed Beecher regards as the more
primitive forms those which possess characters similar to those of
the early larval stages, such as narrow free cheeks, the absence of
compound eyes, and a glabella which is broad in front and reaches
the anterior margin of the head.
The modifications introduced by Beecher can scarcely be regarded
as making Salter’s classification more natural. For instance, the
Agnostidae differ so much from all other families that, at present,
there is no evidence to show that they have any close phylogenetic
relationship with the Trinucleidae and Harpedidae. Further, the
Calymenidae, which Salter recognised as related to the Olenidae,
have been shown by the careful work of Professor Pompeckj[201] to
have descended from the latter family, and to have no genetic
connexion with the Phacopidae with which they are grouped by
Beecher. Then in the Trinucleidae the earliest genus, Orometopus[202]
(Fig. 140, A), possesses compound eyes and facial sutures which
begin at the posterior margin and unite in front of the glabella; so
that, according to Beecher’s classification, that genus would belong
to the Opisthoparia, whereas the later genera (Trinucleus, etc.) of the
same family would be placed in the Hypoparia. At present, therefore,
the only classification of Trilobites which can be adopted is a division
into families, of which a short account is given below.
Fam. 1. Agnostidae (Fig. 146).—Small Trilobites, in which the
head and pygidium are of nearly the same size and shape. The thorax
is shorter than the head or pygidium, and consists of from two to
four segments with grooved pleurae. The length and width of the
head are commonly nearly equal, but sometimes the length is
greater. Eyes are absent. Facial sutures appear to be absent, but are
stated by Beecher to be at the margin of the cephalic shield. From the
absence of eyes, the probable absence of facial sutures, the few or
indistinct furrows on the glabella, and the smaller number of
thoracic segments, the Agnostidae appear to be degenerate forms.
Microdiscus is apparently less modified than Agnostus, on account
of the larger number of thoracic
segments, the more distinct
segmentation of the pygidium,
and, in some species, the larger
number of furrows on the
glabella. Cambrian and
Ordovician. Genera: Agnostus,
Microdiscus.
Fam. 2. Shumardiidae.—
The body is very small and oval.
The cephalic shield is nearly
semicircular and very convex,
with a broad glabella which
expands in front, and in which
the furrows, except the neck-
furrow, are indistinct. The facial
suture is marginal and eyes are
absent. There are six thoracic
segments with ridged pleurae; the
axis is broader than the pleurae.
The pygidium is large, and is
formed of about four segments
similar to those of the thorax.
Upper Cambrian and Ordovician.
Genus: Shumardia.
Fam. 3. Trinucleidae (Fig.
140).—The head is large and has a
flat border (except in Ampyx),
and long genal spines. In the
earliest genus (Orometopus) the Fig. 146.—Agnostus integer, Beyr., × 8.
facial sutures start from the Cambrian. (After Barrande.)
posterior margin (near the genal
angle) and pass obliquely inwards
to the compound eye, from whence they continue forward and unite
in front of the glabella. In Ampyx the suture starts from just within
the genal angle and passes to the front border, cutting off a narrow
free cheek; eyes are absent. In most specimens of Trinucleus no
sutures are seen, but some examples show indications of what may
be a facial suture (see p. 226), and a suture is sometimes found at the
margin of the cephalic border; eyes may occur (see p. 230). The
thorax consists of from five to eight segments, with grooved pleurae.
The pygidium is triangular. Principally Ordovician. Genera:
Orometopus (Upper Cambrian), Ampyx, Trinucleus, Dionide.
Fam. 4. Harpedidae (Figs. 139, G, H; 150, A).—The head is
large and has a broad, flat border which is finely punctate, and
extends backwards on each side in the form of a horn-like projection
nearly as far as the posterior end of the thorax. The glabella is convex
and does not reach the front margin. The cheeks are less convex than
the glabella, and bear eyes which usually consist of two or three
lenses. An eye-line connects the eye with the anterior part of the
glabella. A suture is stated to occur at the external margin of the flat
border. The thorax consists of from twenty-five to twenty-nine
segments; its axis is narrow, and the pleurae are long and grooved.
The pygidium is very small, and consists of three or four segments.
Ordovician to Devonian. Genus: Harpes.
Fam. 5. Paradoxidae (Figs. 147, 148, 149).—The cephalic shield
is large, and bears long genal spines. The glabella is more or less
swollen in front. The facial sutures appear to be absent in some
genera, and when present extend from the posterior to the anterior
margin. The palpebral lobes are long, and often more or less
semicircular or kidney-shaped. The thorax is long, and consists of
from sixteen to twenty segments with their pleurae produced into
spines. The pygidium is very small, and plate-like, or sometimes in
the form of a long spine. Cambrian. Genera: Olenellus, Holmia,
Mesonacis, Olenelloides, Paradoxides, Zacanthoides, Centropleura
(Anopolenus). Remopleurides (Fig. 150, D) from the Ordovician is
usually included in the Paradoxidae, but probably belongs to a
separate family.
Fam. 6. Conocephalidae (Conocoryphidae) (Fig. 150, E).—
The cephalic shield is semicircular, and larger than the pygidium.
The glabella narrows in front. The facial suture passes from near the
genal angle on the posterior border to the antero-lateral margin, and
limits a large fixed cheek and a narrow free cheek. Eyes are absent or
rudimentary, but an eye-line is usually present. The thorax consists
of from fourteen to seventeen segments with grooved pleurae, which
may be pointed, but are not usually produced into spines. The
 pygidium is small, and formed of
few segments. Cambrian. Genera:
Conocoryphe, Atops,
Ctenocephalus, Bathynotus.
Fam. 7. Olenidae (Figs. 142,
143; 150, B, C).—The cephalic
shield is larger than the
pygidium. The glabella is either
rectangular or parabolic. The
facial suture passes from the
posterior to the anterior margin.
The palpebral lobes are of
moderate or rather large size, and
are connected by an eye-line with
the front part of the glabella. The
thorax includes from eleven
(occasionally fewer) to eighteen
segments with grooved pleurae.
The pygidium is usually small,
with from two to eight segments.
Principally Cambrian. Genera:
Ptychoparia, Angelina,
Solenopleura, Sao, Agraulos
(Arionellus), Ellipsocephalus,
Protolenus, Olenus, Peltura,
Acerocare, Eurycare, Ctenopyge,
Fig. 147.—Paradoxides bohemicus, Leptoplastus, Triarthrus,
Barr. × ½. Middle Cambrian. (After
Zittel.) Parabolina, Sphaerophthalmus,
Parabolinella, Ceratopyge
(position doubtful).
Dikelocephalus is usually placed in the Olenidae, but perhaps
belongs to a distinct family.
Fam. 8. Calymenidae (Figs. 136, 137).—The glabella is broadest
behind. The facial suture starts at or near the genal angle—
sometimes on the posterior border just inside the angle, sometimes
on the lateral border just in front of the angle; the suture may be
continuous with the other suture in front of the glabella, or may cut
the anterior margin, beneath which it is connected with the other
suture by means of a transverse
suture (Fig. 137, B, D). The eyes
are rather small. The thorax
consists of thirteen segments with
grooved pleurae; the pygidium of
from six to fourteen segments.
Ordovician to Devonian. Genera:
Calymene, Synhomalonotus,
Homalonotus.

Fig. 148.—Holmia kjerulfi, Linnars. ×

1. Lower Cambrian. (After Holm.)
Fig. 149.—Clenelloides armatus, Peach.
Lower Cambrian, × 3. (After Peach.)
Fig. 150.—A, Harpes ungula, Sternb., Ordovician. B,
Ellipsocephalus hoffi, Scloth., Cambrian. C, Olenus truncatus,
Brünn., Cambrian. (After Angelin.) D, Remopleurides radians,
Barr., Ordovician. E, Conocoryphe sulzeri, Barr., Cambrian. F,
Illaenus dalmanni, Volb., Ordovician. G, Proëtus bohemicus,
Corda, Silurian, × 1½. H, Aeglina prisca, Barr., Ordovician, × 3.
I, Phacops sternbergi, Barr., Devonian. (A, D, E, G, H, I, after
Barrande; B, F, from Zittel; natural size except G, H.)
 Fam. 9. Asaphidae (Fig. 150, F).—The body is oval and
commonly rather large. The cephalic shield is large, with its glabella
often indistinctly limited and the glabella-furrows often obscure. The
facial suture starts from the posterior margin and usually cuts the
anterior margin, but is sometimes continued in front of the glabella.
The relative size of the fixed and free cheeks varies greatly. The eyes
are of variable size. The thorax consists of eight or ten (sometimes
fewer) segments; the pleurae are generally grooved, but sometimes
plane. The pygidium is large, often being similar in form and size to
the head; it consists of numerous segments which, however, may be
indistinctly shown; the axis in some forms is obsolete. Upper
Cambrian (Tremadoc) to Silurian; common in the Ordovician.
Genera: Asaphus (sub-genera, Megalaspis, Asaphellus,
Symphysurus, etc.), Ogygia, Barrandia, Niobe, Nileus, Illaenus,
Bumastus, Stygina. Aeglina (Fig. 150, H) is usually placed in this
family, but its systematic position is doubtful.
Fam. 10. Bronteidae.—The general form is similar to that of the
Asaphidae. The glabella broadens rapidly in front, and is marked
with furrows on each side, which are usually short, and may be
indistinct. The facial suture passes from the posterior margin to the
crescentic eye which is situated rather near the posterior border, and
from thence to the anterior margin. There are ten thoracic segments
with ridged pleurae. The pygidium is longer than the head, and has a
very short axis, from which the furrows on the pleural part radiate.
Ordovician to Devonian. Genus: Bronteus.
Fam. 11. Phacopidae (Figs. 138; 150, I; 151, C).—The head and
pygidium are of about the same size. The glabella is distinctly
limited, and wider in front than behind, with a neck-furrow and
three other furrows, of which some of the anterior may be indistinct
or obsolete. The eyes are schizochroal and usually large. The facial
suture begins at the lateral margin and unites with the suture of the
other side in front of the glabella. There are eleven thoracic segments
with grooved pleurae. The pygidium is usually large, with a distinct
axis and many segments. Ordovician to Devonian. Genera: Phacops,
Trimerocephalus, Acaste, Pterygometopus, Chasmops, Dalmanites,
Cryphaeus.
 Fig. 151.—A, Phillipsia gemmulifera, Phill., Carboniferous. B,
Arethusina konincki, Barr., Ordovician. C, Dalmanites limulurus,
Green, Silurian. (After Hall.) D, Cheirurus insignis, Beyr.,
Silurian. E, Deiphon forbesi, Barr., Silurian. F, Acidaspis
dufrenoyi, Barr., Silurian. (A, B, from Zittel; D, E, F, after
Barrande; natural size.)

Fam. 12. Cheiruridae (Fig. 151, D, E).—The glabella is convex or

inflated, and distinctly defined. The facial suture passes from the
lateral to the front margin. The free cheeks are small, and the eyes
usually rather small. There are from nine to eighteen (usually eleven)
thoracic segments; the pleurae have ridges or grooves and free ends.
The pygidium is small, consisting of from three to five segments
often produced into spines. Upper Cambrian to Devonian. Genera:
Cheirurus, Deiphon, Placoparia, Sphaerexochus, Amphion,
Staurocephalus.
Fam. 13. Proëtidae (Figs. 150, G; 151, A, B).—The body is rather
small, and the head forms about a third of its entire length. The
glabella is sharply defined, and its furrows are sometimes indistinct;
the posterior furrow curves backward to the neck-furrow, thus
limiting a basal lobe on each side of the glabella. The eyes are often
large (Fig. 150, G); but in Arethusina (Fig. 151, B), in which an eye-
line is present, they are small. The facial sutures pass from the
posterior to the anterior margin. The free cheeks are large. There are
from eight to twenty-two thoracic segments with grooved pleurae.
The pygidium is usually formed of numerous segments, and its
margin is usually entire. Ordovician to Permian. Genera: Proëtus,
Arethusina, Cyphaspis, Phillipsia, Griffithides, Brachymetopus,
Dechenella.[203]
Fam. 14. Encrinuridae.—The cephalic shield is ornamented
with tubercles. The free cheeks are narrow, and the eyes very small.
The facial suture extends from the lateral margin (or from the genal
angle) to the anterior margin. There are from ten to twelve thoracic
segments with ridged pleurae. On the axis of the pygidium numerous
segments are seen, but usually fewer are indicated on the lateral
parts. Ordovician and Silurian. Genera: Encrinurus, Cybele,
Dindymene.
Fam. 15. Acidaspidae (Fig. 151, F).—The cephalic shield is
broad, with a spinose margin, genal spines, and sometimes spines on
the neck-ring. The glabella has a longitudinal furrow on each side,
due to the backward bending of the lateral furrows. The facial suture
passes from the posterior border (near the genal angle) to the
anterior border. The free cheeks are large; the eyes small. There are
from eight to ten thoracic segments with ridged pleurae, which are
produced into long backwardly directed spines. The pygidium is
short, and is formed of two or three segments with long spines at the
margin. Ordovician to Devonian. Genus: Acidaspis.