''Mycterops'' is a genus of prehistoric

eurypterid Eurypterids, often informally called sea scorpions, are a group of extinct marine arthropods that form the Order (biology), order Eurypterida. The earliest known eurypterids date to the Darriwilian stage of the Ordovician period, 467.3 Myr, mil ...

of the family Mycteroptidae. ''Mycterops'' lived during the

Carboniferous The Carboniferous ( ) is a Geologic time scale, geologic period and System (stratigraphy), system of the Paleozoic era (geology), era that spans 60 million years, from the end of the Devonian Period Ma (million years ago) to the beginning of the ...

period in

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

and

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

Description

Mycteroptids were medium-sized to fairly large. Their outer surface had numerous scales and reticulate ornamentation. Their first and possibly second tergites (dorsal surfaces of the abdominal sections) were strongly developed. Their legs resembled those of ''

Stylonurus ''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 ...

''. The prosoma (head) was subtrapezoid, with small compound eyes. 1955. Merostomata. ''Treatise on Invertebrate Paleontology, Part P Arthropoda 2, Chelicerata'', P39.

Classification

The three genera included in the '' Mycteroptidae'' - ''Mycterops'', ''

Woodwardopterus ''Woodwardopterus'' is a genus of prehistoric eurypterid, or sea scorpion, classified as part of the family Mycteroptidae. The genus contains one confirmed species, ''W. scabrosus'', from the Carboniferous of Glencartholm, Scotland Sc ...

'', and '' Megarachne'' - might represent different ontogenetic stages of each other based on the sizes of the referred specimens and the patterns of mucronation. This would sink the genera ''Woodwardopterus'' and ''Megarachne'' into ''Mycterops''. ''Mycterops whitei'' is a fragmentary species that might not be referrable to the genus at all if more complete specimens show that it has a caudal postabdomen.

Species

The species currently seen as valid species of the genus are: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). * ''Mycterops''? ''blairi'' Waterston, 1968 — Carboniferous,

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

. * ''Mycterops matthieui ''Pruvost, 1924 — Carboniferous,

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

. * ''Mycterops ordinatus ''Cope, 1886 — Carboniferous,

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

(

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

). * ''Mycterops''? ''whitei'' Schram, 1984 — Carboniferous,

Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...

(

References

Carboniferous eurypterids Stylonurina Carboniferous arthropods of Europe Eurypterids of Europe Taxa named by Edward Drinker Cope {{eurypterid-stub

Description

Classification

Species

See also

References