Leiopterella

Leiopterella is a genus of prehistoric eurypterid of the family Rhenopteridae. It contains one species, Leiopterella tetliei, from the Early Devonian of Nunavut, Canada.[1] The name is said to be derived from the Greek leios (meaning "smooth") and pteros (meaning "wing", a suffix traditionally applied to many eurypterid genera). The proper word for wing in ancient Greek is however pteron (πτερόν).[2] The species name honors Dr. O. Erik Tetlie for his contributions to the study of fossil eurypterids.[3]

Leiopterella
Temporal range: Early Devonian
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Chelicerata
Order: †Eurypterida
Superfamily: †Rhenopteroidea
Family: †Rhenopteridae
Genus: †Leiopterella
Lamsdell, Braddy, Loeffler & Dineley, 2010
Type species
Leiopterella tetliei
Lamsdell, Braddy, Loeffler & Dineley, 2010

Description

Leiopterella is defined as a rhenopterid with a turbinate carapace lacking a cuticular sculpture. The ventral sutures resemble those of Eurypterus and the gnathobases are large and robust. The genus possesses a short type-B genital appendage with a bi-lobed termination.[3]

The holotype (and only published) specimen, CMN 53573, measures 37 mm long and 29 mm wide and consists of the prosoma, four opisthosomal segments, a faintly preserved metasoma, portions of the prosomal appendages and the genital appendage.[3]

Classification

Leiopterella is classified as a rhenopterid closely related to Rhenopterus and more derived than basal rhenopterids such as Brachyopterus and Brachyopterella.[3]

See also
  • List of eurypterids

References
  1. 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).
  2. Liddell, H.G. & Scott, R. (1940). A Greek-English Lexicon. revised and augmented throughout by Sir Henry Stuart Jones. with the assistance of. Roderick McKenzie. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
  3. Lamsdell, James C.; Braddy, Simon J.; Loeffler, Elizabeth J.; Dineley, David L. (2010-10-27). "Early Devonian stylonurine eurypterids from Arctic Canada". Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences. 47 (11): 1405–1415. doi:10.1139/E10-053. ISSN 0008-4077.
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