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The first documentation of an Ordovician eurypterid (Chelicerata) from China

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 May 2023

Han Wang Open the ORCID record for Han Wang [Opens in a new window] ,
Simon J. Braddy Open the ORCID record for Simon J. Braddy [Opens in a new window] ,
Joseph Botting Open the ORCID record for Joseph Botting [Opens in a new window]  and
Yuandong Zhang Open the ORCID record for Yuandong Zhang [Opens in a new window]
Han Wang*
Affiliation:
State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology and Center for Excellence in Life and Paleoenvironment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008, China University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
Simon J. Braddy
Affiliation:
Manorbier, Pembrokeshire, Wales, UK
Joseph Botting
Affiliation:
State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology and Center for Excellence in Life and Paleoenvironment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008, China Department of Natural Sciences, Amgueddfa Cymru – National Museum Wales, Cathays Park, Cardiff CF10 3LP, UK
Yuandong Zhang
Affiliation:
State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology and Center for Excellence in Life and Paleoenvironment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008, China
*
*Corresponding author.
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Abstract

An early form of eurypterids (Chelicerata), Archopterus anjiensis n. gen. n. sp., is described from the uppermost Ordovician Wenchang Formation of Anji County, Zhejiang Province, South China. It is the earliest record of eurypterids in China and likely the oldest representative of the Adelophthalmidae. The species, represented by a single specimen, is diagnosed by a ventrally preserved prosoma with a parabolic carapace, Hughmilleria-type prosomal appendages, a short vase-shaped metastoma, and a three-segmented type A (female) genital appendage. The specimen is preserved, together with diverse sponges, graptolites and occasional nautiloids, in a 10 m thick shale of marine deep-water setting. This finding extends the stratigraphic range of adelophthalmids from the previously recorded early Silurian into the Late Ordovician (some 10 million years older) and supports an earlier cryptic phase of eurypterid evolution in Gondwana.

UUID: http://zoobank.org/a2d090e5-1a15-40b6-8e2a-dda45b01e94d

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Journal of Paleontology , Volume 97 , Issue 3 , May 2023 , pp. 606 - 611
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Copyright © The Author(s), 2023. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of The Paleontological Society

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