Melbournopterus

Melbournopterus is a genus of prehistoric chelicerate or brachiopod, known from the Upper Silurian of Australia. It is of uncertain taxonomic placement within the subphylum Chelicerata.[1] Lamsdell, Percival and Poschmann (2013) argued that Melbournopterus crossotus is not a chelicerate at all, and interpreted its type specimen as the dorsal valve of a craniate brachiopod.[2]

Melbournopterus
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
?Brachiopoda
Genus:
Melbournopterus

Caster & Kjellesvig-Waering, 1953

Description

If Melbournopterus is a chelicerate, it is distinguished by its prosoma (head), which is bell-shaped and emarginate in front, with subrectangular compound eyes located posteriorly on the prosoma, which strongly converge anteriorly. It was small in size, and its abdomen and appendages are unknown.[3]

Species
  • Melbournopterus Caster & Kjellesvig-Waering, 1953
    • M. crossotus, Caster & Kjellesvig-Waering, 1953, Upper Silurian, Australia

References
  1. Jason A. Dunlop; David Penney; Denise Jekel; with additional contributions from Lyall I. Anderson, Simon J. Braddy; James C. Lamsdell; Paul A. Selden & O. Erik Tetlie (2011). "A summary list of fossil spiders and their relatives". In Norman I. Platnick (ed.). NMBE - World Spider Catalog, version 19.5 (PDF). American Museum of Natural History. Retrieved May 21, 2011.CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  2. James C. Lamsdell; Ian G. Percival & Markus Poschmann (2013). "The problematic 'chelicerate' Melbournopterus crossotus Caster & Kjellesvig-Waering: a case of mistaken identity". Alcheringa: An Australasian Journal of Palaeontology. in press. doi:10.1080/03115518.2013.764681.
  3. Størmer, L 1955. Merostomata. Treatise on Invertebrate Paleontology, Part P Arthropoda 2, Chelicerata, P39.


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