Austrolimulidae

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Austrolimulidae
Temporal range: Kungurian–Hettangian
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Fossils of Austrolimulus (top), Tasmaniolimulus (left), and Dubbolimulus (right)
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Chelicerata
Order: Xiphosura
Superfamily: Limuloidea
Family: Austrolimulidae
Riek, 1955

Austrolimulidae is an extinct family of horseshoe crabs belonging to the infraorder Limulina. Members of the family are known from the Permian to the beginning of the Jurassic, though one species has been reported from the end of the Cretaceous. Austrolimulids are known for amongst the most extreme morphologies among Xiphosurids, including large elongated genal spines. Unlike living Limulids, Austrolimulids were likely adapted for freshwater and brackish environments. [1] They are considered to be the sister group to Limulidae, the group that contains all modern horseshoe crabs. [2]

Genera

Related Research Articles

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Horseshoe crabs are marine and brackish water arthropods of the family Limulidae and are the only surviving xiphosurans. Despite their name, they are not true crabs or crustaceans. Rather, they are chelicerates. This makes them more closely related to arachnids like spiders, ticks, and scorpions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Xiphosura</span> Order of marine chelicerates

Xiphosura is an order of arthropods related to arachnids. They are more commonly known as horseshoe crabs. They first appeared in the Hirnantian. Currently, there are only four living species. Xiphosura contains one suborder, Xiphosurida, and several stem-genera.

<i>Mesolimulus</i> Genus of horseshoe crab relatives

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<i>Willwerathia</i> Genus of Devonian arthropod

Willwerathia is a genus of Devonian arthropod. It is sometimes classified as synziphosurine, a paraphyletic group of horseshoe crab-like fossil chelicerate arthropods, while some studies compare its morphology to an artiopod. Willwerathia known only by one species, Willwerathia laticeps, discovered in deposits of the Devonian period from the Klerf Formation, in the Rhenish Slate Mountains of Germany.

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<i>Legrandella</i> Extinct genus of chelicerate

Legrandella is a genus of synziphosurine, a paraphyletic group of fossil chelicerate arthropods. Legrandella was regarded as part of the clade Prosomapoda. Fossils of the single and type species, L. lombardii, have been discovered in deposits of the Devonian period in Cochabamba, Bolivia.

<i>Limuloides</i> Genus of horseshoe crab relatives

Limuloides is a genus of synziphosurine, a paraphyletic group of fossil chelicerate arthropods. Limuloides was regarded as part of the clade Planaterga. Fossils of the genus have been discovered in deposits of the Silurian period in the United Kingdom and potentially in the United States. Limuloides is one of the two genera of the family Bunodidae, the other being the type genus Bunodes. Limuloides is characterized by a carapace with radiated ridges and serrated lateral regions, and an opisthosoma with rows of nodes. Limuloides was once thought to have lateral compound eyes on its carapace, but later investigation did not find any evidence of it.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bunodidae</span> Extinct family of chelicerates

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References

  1. Bicknell, Russell D. C.; Pates, Stephen (2020). "Pictorial Atlas of Fossil and Extant Horseshoe Crabs, With Focus on Xiphosurida". Frontiers in Earth Science. 8: 98. Bibcode:2020FrEaS...8...98B. doi: 10.3389/feart.2020.00098 . ISSN   2296-6463.
  2. 1 2 Lamsdell, James C. (2020). "The phylogeny and systematics of Xiphosura". PeerJ. 8: e10431. doi: 10.7717/peerj.10431 . PMC   7720731 . PMID   33335810.
  3. Bicknell, Russell D. C.; Shcherbakov, Dmitry E. (30 June 2021). "New austrolimulid from Russia supports role of Early Triassic horseshoe crabs as opportunistic taxa". PeerJ. 9: e11709. doi: 10.7717/peerj.11709 . ISSN   2167-8359. PMC   8254475 . PMID   34249518.
  4. Bicknell, Russell D. C.; Hecker, Andreas; Heyng, Alexander M. (2021-02-11). "New horseshoe crab fossil from Germany demonstrates post-Triassic extinction of Austrolimulidae". Geological Magazine. 158 (8): 1461–1471. Bibcode:2021GeoM..158.1461B. doi:10.1017/S0016756820001478. ISSN   0016-7568. S2CID   233937535.
  5. Bicknell, Russell D. C. (2019-10-13). "Xiphosurid from the Upper Permian of Tasmania confirms Palaeozoic origin of Austrolimulidae". Palaeontologia Electronica. 22 (3): 1–13. doi: 10.26879/1005 . ISSN   1094-8074.
  6. Bicknell, R. D. C.; Smith, P. M.; Brougham, T.; Bevitt, J. J. (2022). "An earliest Triassic age for Tasmaniolimulus and comments on synchrotron tomography of Gondwanan horseshoe crabs". PeerJ. 10: e13326. doi: 10.7717/peerj.13326 . PMC   9037155 . PMID   35480564.
  7. Lerner, Allan J.; Lucas, Spencer G.; Lockley, Martin (2017-12-01). "First fossil horseshoe crab (Xiphosurida) from the Triassic of North America". Neues Jahrbuch für Geologie und Paläontologie - Abhandlungen. 286 (3): 289–302. doi:10.1127/njgpa/2017/0702.