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''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 The Silurian ( ) is a geologic period and system spanning 24.6 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 shortest period of the Paleozo ...
of Scotland and ''P. sigmoidalis'' from the Silurian of England.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).


Description

''Parastylonurus'' was a
stylonuroid Stylonuroidea is an extinct superfamily of eurypterids, an extinct group of chelicerate arthropods commonly known as "sea scorpions". It is one of four superfamilies classified as part of the suborder Stylonurina. Stylonuroidea, which lived f ...
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 A carapace is a Dorsum (biology), dorsal (upper) section of the exoskeleton or shell in a number of animal groups, including arthropods, such as crustaceans and arachnids, as well as vertebrates, such as turtles and tortoises. In turtles and tor ...
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.


Classification

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


Species

''Parastylonurus'' contains three valid species, with other named species now seen as invalid or as part of other genera. * ''Parastylonurus hendersoni'' Waterston, 1979 - Pentland Hills, Scotland (
Silurian The Silurian ( ) is a geologic period and system spanning 24.6 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 shortest period of the Paleozo ...
) * ''Parastylonurus ornatus'' Laurie, 1892 - Scotland (
Silurian The Silurian ( ) is a geologic period and system spanning 24.6 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 shortest period of the Paleozo ...
) * ''Parastylonurus''? ''sigmoidalis'' Kjellesvig-Waering, 1971 - Shropshire, England (
Silurian The Silurian ( ) is a geologic period and system spanning 24.6 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 shortest period of the Paleozo ...
) Invalid or reassigned species are listed below: * ''"Parastylonurus" beecheri'' Hall, 1884 - Pennsylvania, USA (
Devonian The Devonian ( ) is a geologic period and system of the Paleozoic era, spanning 60.3 million years from the end of the Silurian, million years ago (Mya), to the beginning of the Carboniferous, Mya. It is named after Devon, England, whe ...
), reclassified as a species of ''
Stylonurella ''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 th ...
''. * ''"Parastylonurus" macrophthalmus'' Laurie, 1892 - Pentland Hills, Scotland (
Silurian The Silurian ( ) is a geologic period and system spanning 24.6 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 shortest period of the Paleozo ...
), reclassified as a species of ''
Hardieopterus ''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 a ...
''. * ''"Parastylonurus" megalops'' Salter, 1859 - Herefordshire, England (
Silurian The Silurian ( ) is a geologic period and system spanning 24.6 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 shortest period of the Paleozo ...
), reclassified as a species of ''
Hardieopterus ''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 a ...
''. * ''"Parastylonurus" myops'' Clarke, 1907 - Eastern USA (
Silurian The Silurian ( ) is a geologic period and system spanning 24.6 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 shortest period of the Paleozo ...
), reclassified as a species of ''
Hardieopterus ''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 a ...
''. * ''"Parastylonurus" rusti'' Ruedemann, 1926 - New York, USA ( Ordovician), a pseudofossil.


See also

*
List of eurypterids This list of eurypterid genera is a comprehensive listing of all 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 conside ...


References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q7136045 Stylonuroidea Silurian eurypterids Eurypterids of Europe