Dolichopteridae is an extinct family of
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 ...
s that lived in the
Silurian
The Silurian ( ) is a geologic period and system spanning 23.5 million years from the end of the Ordovician Period, at million years ago ( Mya), to the beginning of the Devonian Period, Mya. The Silurian is the third and shortest period of t ...
and
Devonian
The Devonian ( ) is a period (geology), geologic period and system (stratigraphy), system of the Paleozoic era (geology), era during the Phanerozoic eon (geology), eon, spanning 60.3 million years from the end of the preceding Silurian per ...
periods.
Description
Dolichopterid eurypterids had outer surfaces that were either smooth or with pustules and semilunar scales. The compound eyes were arcuate and located anteriorly on the prosoma (head). The abdomens had epimers (lateral projections). The telson (the posteriormost division of the body) was lanceolate. The chelicerae were small, and the first three pairs of walking legs were stout, with powerful spines. The last pair of walking legs had supplementary lobes, while the swimming legs had the last joint enlarged, as part of the paddle. The male genital appendage was long.
[ 1955. Merostomata. ''Treatise on Invertebrate Paleontology, Part P Arthropoda 2, Chelicerata'', P39.]
See also
*
List of eurypterids
This list of eurypterid genera is a comprehensive listing of all Genus, genera that have ever been included in the order Eurypterida, excluding purely vernacular terms. The list includes all commonly accepted genera, but also genera that are now c ...
References
Eurypteroidea
Prehistoric arthropod families
Devonian arthropods
Silurian arthropods
Silurian first appearances
Devonian extinctions
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