''Austrolimulus fletcheri'' is an
extinct
Extinction is the termination of an organism by the death of its Endling, last member. A taxon may become Functional extinction, functionally extinct before the death of its last member if it loses the capacity to Reproduction, reproduce and ...
xiphosura
Xiphosura (; , in reference to its sword-like telson) is an order of arthropods related to arachnids. They are more commonly known as horseshoe crabs (a name applied more specifically to the only extant family, Horseshoe crab, Limulidae). They fir ...
n, related to the modern
horseshoe crab
Horseshoe crabs are arthropods of the family Limulidae and the only surviving xiphosurans. Despite their name, they are not true crabs or even crustaceans; they are chelicerates, more closely related to arachnids like spiders, ticks, and scor ...
. The holotype and only known specimen is from
Middle Triassic
In the geologic timescale, the Middle Triassic is the second of three epoch (geology), epochs of the Triassic period (geology), period or the middle of three series (stratigraphy), series in which the Triassic system (stratigraphy), system is di ...
-aged strata of Brookvale,
New South Wales
New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...
of
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
.
[Riek, E. F. "A NEW XIPHOSURAN FROM THE TRIASSIC SEDIMENTS AT BROOKVALE, NEW SOUTH WALES." Records of the Australian Museum 23 (1955): 281-282]
/ref>
References
*''Evolution: What the Fossils Say and Why It Matters'' by Donald R. Prothero and Carl Buell
External links
Xiphosura
at Palaeos.com
Xiphosura
Middle Triassic arthropods
{{paleo-arthropod-stub