Leiopterella

Leiopterella Temporal range: Early Devonian PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Subphylum:	Chelicerata
Order:	† Eurypterida
Superfamily:	† Rhenopteroidea
Family:	† Rhenopteridae
Genus:	† Leiopterella Lamsdell, Braddy, Loeffler & Dineley, 2010
Type species
Leiopterella tetliei Lamsdell, Braddy, Loeffler & Dineley, 2010

Leiopterella is a genus of prehistoric eurypterid of the family Rhenopteridae. It contains one species, Leiopterella tetliei, from the Early Devonian of Nunavut, Canada. ^[1] The name is said to be derived from the Greek leios (meaning "smooth") and pteros (meaning "wing", a suffix traditionally applied to many eurypterid genera). The proper word for wing in ancient Greek is however pteron (πτερόν). ^[2] The species name honors Dr. O. Erik Tetlie for his contributions to the study of fossil eurypterids. ^[3]

Description

Leiopterella is defined as a rhenopterid with a turbinate carapace lacking a cuticular sculpture. The ventral sutures resemble those of Eurypterus and the gnathobases are large and robust. The genus possesses a short type-B genital appendage with a bi-lobed termination. ^[3]

The holotype (and only published) specimen, CMN 53573, measures 37 mm long and 29 mm wide and consists of the prosoma, four opisthosomal segments, a faintly preserved metasoma, portions of the prosomal appendages and the genital appendage. ^[3]

Classification

Historically, Leiopterella was classified as a rhenopterid closely related to Rhenopterus and more derived than basal rhenopterids such as Brachyopterus and Brachyopterella . ^[3] However, a 2021 study concluded that Leiopterella was more basal than previously thought. ^[4]

See also

• List of eurypterids

References

1. Dunlop, J. A., Penney, D. & Jekel, D. 2015. A summary list of fossil spiders and their relatives. In World Spider Catalog. Natural History Museum Bern, online at http://wsc.nmbe.ch , version 16.0  http://www.wsc.nmbe.ch/resources/fossils/Fossils16.0.pdf  (PDF).
2. Liddell, H.G. & Scott, R. (1940). A Greek-English Lexicon. revised and augmented throughout by Sir Henry Stuart Jones. with the assistance of. Roderick McKenzie. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
3. Lamsdell, James C.; Braddy, Simon J.; Loeffler, Elizabeth J.; Dineley, David L. (2010-10-27). "Early Devonian stylonurine eurypterids from Arctic Canada". Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences . 47 (11): 1405–1415. Bibcode:2010CaJES..47.1405J. doi: 10.1139/E10-053 . ISSN   0008-4077.
4. Braddy, Simon J.; Dunlop, Jason A.; Bonsor, Joseph A. (2021). "The Early Devonian eurypterid Leiopterella tetliei from Arctic Canada" (PDF). Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences. 58 (12): 1301–1307. Bibcode:2021CaJES..58.1301B. doi:10.1139/cjes-2021-0015. S2CID   240257178.