''Leiopterella'' is a genus of prehistoric eurypterid of the family

Rhenopteridae The Rhenopteridae are a family of eurypterids, an extinct group of chelicerate arthropods commonly known as "sea scorpions". The family is the only family currently contained in the superfamily Rhenopteroidea, one of four superfamilies classified ...

. It contains one species, ''Leiopterella tetliei'', from the Early Devonian of

Nunavut Nunavut ( , ; iu, ᓄᓇᕗᑦ , ; ) is the largest and northernmost Provinces and territories of Canada#Territories, territory of Canada. It was separated officially from the Northwest Territories on April 1, 1999, via the ''Nunavut Act'' ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

.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). 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).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. The species name honors Dr. O. Erik Tetlie for his contributions to the study of fossil eurypterids.

Description

''Leiopterella'' is defined as a rhenopterid with a turbinate carapace lacking a cuticular sculpture. The ventral sutures resemble those of ''

Eurypterus ''Eurypterus'' ( ) is an extinct genus of eurypterid, a group of organisms commonly called "sea scorpions". The genus lived during the Silurian period, from around 432 to 418 million years ago. ''Eurypterus'' is by far the most well-studied and ...

'' and the gnathobases are large and robust. The genus possesses a short type-B genital appendage with a bi-lobed termination. The holotype (and only published) specimen, CMN 53573, measures 37 mm long and 29 mm wide and consists of the

prosoma The cephalothorax, also called prosoma in some groups, is a tagma of various arthropods, comprising the head and the thorax fused together, as distinct from the abdomen behind. (The terms ''prosoma'' and ''opisthosoma'' are equivalent to ''cepha ...

, four opisthosomal segments, a faintly preserved

metasoma The metasoma is the posterior part of the body, or tagma, of arthropods whose body is composed of three parts, the other two being the prosoma and the mesosoma. In insects, it contains most of the digestive tract, respiratory system, and circula ...

, portions of the prosomal appendages and the genital appendage.

Classification

Historically, ''Leiopterella'' was classified as a rhenopterid closely related to ''

Rhenopterus ''Rhenopterus'' is an extinct prehistoric eurypterid. Fossils of ''Rhenopterus'' have been recovered from deposits of Lower Devonian age in Germany.Dunlop, J. A., Penney, D. & Jekel, D. 2015. A summary list of fossil spiders and their relatives. ...

'' and more derived than basal rhenopterids such as ''

Brachyopterus ''Brachyopterus'' is a genus of prehistoric eurypterid of the family Rhenopteridae. It is one of the earliest known eurypterids, having been recovered from Middle Ordovician deposits in Montgomeryshire, Wales.Dunlop, J. A., Penney, D. & Jekel, D. ...

'' and ''

Brachyopterella ''Brachyopterella'' is a genus of prehistoric eurypterid classified as part of the Rhenopteridae family. Two species, both from the Silurian period, are known; ''B. pentagonalis'' from Norway and ''B. ritchei'' from Scotland.Dunlop, J. A., Penney ...

''. However, a 2021 study concluded that ''Leiopterella'' was more basal than previously thought.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q48804391 Devonian eurypterids Fossils of Canada Eurypterids of North America Rhenopteroidea

Description

Classification

See also

References