Calymene is a group of trilobites in the order Phacopida, suborder Calymenina. These trilobites are found in rock layers from the Silurian period in North America, North Africa, and Europe. Calymene is closely related to another group called Flexicalymene, and both are often found curled up in fossils. Calymene trilobites are small, usually about 2 centimeters long. The head section is the widest part of the animal, and the middle section, called the thorax, has 13 segments.

The correct name for the genus was first described by Brongniart in 1822. A description of the same group published earlier by Desmarest in 1816 (often incorrectly cited as "Calymena" in 1817) was later removed by the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN) in Opinion 1433.

Known species and locations

The genus Calymene was created a long time ago in the field of paleontology. Over time, many species that were once grouped under Calymene have been moved to different groups.