Parastylonurus

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Parastylonurus
Temporal range: Silurian
Parastylonurus ornatus sixth appendage.png
Restoration of the sixth limb of P. ornatus.
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Chelicerata
Order: Eurypterida
Superfamily: Stylonuroidea
Family: Parastylonuridae
Genus: Parastylonurus
Kjellesvig-Waering, 1966
Species
  • P. hendersoniWaterston, 1979
  • P. ornatusLaurie, 1892 (type species)
  • †?P. sigmoidalisKjellesvig-Waering, 1971

Parastylonurus is a genus of prehistoric eurypterid. It is classified within the Parastylonuridae family and contains three species, P. hendersoni and P. ornatus from the Silurian of Scotland and P. sigmoidalis from the Silurian of England. [1]

Contents

Description

Parastylonurus was a stylonuroid of small to medium size with a rounded prosoma wider than it was long. The eyes were located on the anterior half of the carapace and the metasoma was very long. The first three walking legs were very short with single opposable spines on every joint. The last two walking legs were very long, reaching to the last tergite. The opisthosoma was narrow and undifferentiated and the telson was spike-like. [2]

Classification

Parastylonurus can be differentiated from the closely related Stylonurus in that it lacks the distinct trilobation present in Stylonurus and by the position of the eyes. [2]

Species

Parastylonurus contains three valid species, [1] with other named species now seen as invalid or as part of other genera.

Invalid or reassigned species are listed below:

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stylonurina</span> Extinct suborder of arthropods

Stylonurina is one of two suborders of eurypterids, a group of extinct arthropods commonly known as "sea scorpions". Members of the suborder are collectively and informally known as "stylonurine eurypterids" or "stylonurines". They are known from deposits primarily in Europe and North America, but also in Siberia.

<i>Slimonia</i> Extinct genus of arthropods

Slimonia is a genus of eurypterid, an extinct group of aquatic arthropods. Fossils of Slimonia have been discovered in deposits of Silurian age in South America and Europe. Classified as part of the family Slimonidae alongside the related Salteropterus, the genus contains three valid species, S. acuminata from Lesmahagow, Scotland, S. boliviana from Cochabamba, Bolivia and S. dubia from the Pentland Hills of Scotland and one dubious species, S. stylops, from Herefordshire, England. The generic name is derived from and honors Robert Slimon, a fossil collector and surgeon from Lesmahagow.

<i>Mixopterus</i> Extinct genus of arthropods

Mixopterus is a genus of eurypterid, an extinct group of aquatic arthropods. Fossils of Mixopterus have been discovered in deposits from Late Silurian age, and have been referred to several different species. Fossils have been recovered from two continents; Europe and North America.

<i>Brachyopterus</i> Extinct genus of sea scorpions

Brachyopterus is a genus of prehistoric eurypterid of the family Rhenopteridae. It is one of the earliest known eurypterids, having been recovered from Middle Ordovician deposits in Montgomeryshire, Wales. Though other species have been assigned to it in the past, Brachyopterus is today recognized as containing one valid species, B. stubblefieldi.

<i>Drepanopterus</i> Extinct genus of sea scorpions

Drepanopterus is an extinct genus of eurypterid and the only member of the family Drepanopteridae within the Mycteropoidea superfamily. There are currently three species assigned to the genus. The genus has historically included more species, with nine species having been associated with the genus Drepanopterus. Five of these have since been proven to be synonyms of pre-existing species, assigned to their own genera, or found to be based on insubstantial fossil data. The holotype of one species proved to be a lithic clast.

<i>Dorfopterus</i> Extinct genus of arthropods

Dorfopterus is a genus of eurypterid, a group of extinct aquatic arthropods. Only one fossil of the single and type species, D. angusticollis, has been discovered in deposits of the Early Devonian period in the Beartooth Butte Formation in Wyoming, in the United States. The first half of the name of the genus honors the discoverer of this formation, Erling Dorf, while the second half consists in the Ancient Greek word πτερόν (pteron), meaning "wing". The species name angusticollis is composed by the Latin words angustus ("narrow") and collum ("neck").

Salteropterus is a genus of eurypterid, an extinct group of aquatic arthropods. Fossils of Salteropterus have been discovered in deposits of Late Silurian age in Britain. Classified as part of the family Slimonidae, the genus contains one known valid species, S. abbreviatus, which is known from fossils discovered in Herefordshire, England, and a dubious species, S. longilabium, with fossils discovered in Leintwardine, also in Herefordshire. The generic name honours John William Salter, who originally described S. abbreviatus as a species of Eurypterus in 1859.

<i>Kokomopterus</i> Extinct genus of sea scorpions

Kokomopterus is a genus of prehistoric eurypterid. The genus contains a single species, Kokomopterus longicaudatus, known from the Silurian of Kokomo, Indiana.

<i>Kiaeropterus</i> Extinct genus of arthropods

Kiaeropterus is a genus of prehistoric eurypterid classified as part of the Rhenopteridae family. Two species, both from the Silurian period, are known; K. cyclophthalmus from Scotland and K. ruedemanni from Norway.

<i>Stylonurella</i> Extinct genus of arthropods

Stylonurella is a genus of prehistoric eurypterid. It is classified within the Parastylonuridae family and contains three species, S. arnoldi and S. beecheri from the Devonian of Pennsylvania, United States and S. spinipes from the Silurian of Kip Burn, Scotland.

<i>Stylonurus</i> Extinct genus of Devonian organisms

Stylonurus is a genus of prehistoric eurypterid of the family Stylonuridae. The genus contains three species: Stylonurus powriensis from the Devonian of Scotland, Stylonurus shaffneri from the Devonian of Pennsylvania and Stylonurus perspicillum from the Devonian of Germany.

Stylonuroides is a genus of prehistoric eurypterid. The genus is classified as a stylonurine but more precise classification has proven difficult, with the genus remaining classified as incertae sedis within the suborder. The genus contains two species, S. dolichopteroides from the Silurian of Ringerike, Norway and S. orientalis from the Devonian of Lake Shunet, Southern Siberia.

<i>Rhenopterus</i> Extinct genus of Devonian organisms

Rhenopterus is an extinct prehistoric eurypterid. Fossils of Rhenopterus have been recovered from deposits of Lower Devonian age in Germany.

<i>Hardieopterus</i> Extinct genus of arthropods

Hardieopterus is a genus of prehistoric eurypterid classified within the family Hardieopteridae. The genus contains four species, all Silurian in age; H. lanarkensis and H. macrophthalmus from Scotland, H. megalops from England and H. myops from the United States.

<i>Hallipterus</i> Extinct genus of arthropods

Hallipterus is a genus of prehistoric eurypterid classified as part of the family Hardieopteridae.

<i>Mycterops</i> Extinct genus of sea scorpions

Mycterops is a genus of prehistoric eurypterid of the family Mycteroptidae. Mycterops lived during the Carboniferous period in Europe and North America.

<i>Brachyopterella</i>

Brachyopterella is a genus of prehistoric eurypterid classified as part of the Rhenopteridae family. Two species, both from the Silurian period, are known; B. pentagonalis from Norway and B. ritchei from Scotland.

<i>Vernonopterus</i> Extinct genus of arthropods

Vernonopterus is a genus of eurypterid, a group of extinct aquatic arthropods. Fossils of Vernonopterus have been discovered in deposits of the Carboniferous period in Scotland. The name of the genus derives from the location where the only known fossil has been discovered, Mount Vernon near Airdrie in Lanarkshire, Scotland. A single species of Vernonopterus is recognized, V. minutisculptus, based on fragmentary fossilized tergites, segments on the upper side of the abdomen. The species name minutisculptus refers to the ornamentation of scales that covers the entirety of the preserved parts of the eurypterid.

<i>Herefordopterus</i> Extinct genus of arthropods

Herefordopterus is a genus of eurypterid, an extinct group of aquatic arthropods. Herefordopterus is classified as part of the family Hughmilleriidae, a basal family in the highly derived Pterygotioidea superfamily of eurypterids. Fossils of the single and type species, H. banksii, have been discovered in deposits of Silurian age in Herefordshire and Shropshire, England. The genus is named after Herefordshire, where most of the Herefordopterus fossils have been found. The specific epithet honors Richard Banks, who found several well-preserved specimens, including the first Herefordopterus fossils.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Timeline of eurypterid research</span>

This timeline of eurypterid research is a chronologically ordered list of important fossil discoveries, controversies of interpretation, and taxonomic revisions of eurypterids, a group of extinct aquatic arthropods closely related to modern arachnids and horseshoe crabs that lived during the Paleozoic Era.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 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. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Page:A Revision of the Families and Genera of the Stylonuracea (Eurypterida).djvu/16 - Wikisource, the free online library". en.wikisource.org. Retrieved 2017-12-17.
  3. "Page:A Revision of the Families and Genera of the Stylonuracea (Eurypterida).djvu/17 - Wikisource, the free online library". en.wikisource.org. Retrieved 2017-12-17.