Mycteroptidae are a family of

eurypterid Eurypterids, often informally called sea scorpions, are a group of extinct arthropods that form the order Eurypterida. The earliest known eurypterids date to the Darriwilian stage of the Ordovician period 467.3 million years ago. The group is l ...

s, a group of extinct chelicerate

arthropod Arthropods (, (gen. ποδός)) are invertebrate animals with an exoskeleton, a segmented body, and paired jointed appendages. Arthropods form the phylum Arthropoda. They are distinguished by their jointed limbs and cuticle made of chiti ...

s commonly known as "sea scorpions". The family is one of three families contained in the superfamily Mycteropoidea (along with Hibbertopteridae and Drepanopteridae), which in turn is one of four superfamilies classified as part of the suborder

Stylonurina Stylonurina is one of two suborders of eurypterids, a group of extinct arthropods commonly known as "sea scorpions". Members of the suborder are collectively and informally known as "stylonurine eurypterids" or "stylonurines". They are known from ...

. Mycteroptids were sweep-feeding eurypterids known from the

Late Carboniferous Late may refer to: * LATE, an acronym which could stand for: ** Limbic-predominant age-related TDP-43 encephalopathy, a proposed form of dementia ** Local-authority trading enterprise, a New Zealand business law ** Local average treatment effect, ...

to the

Late Permian Late may refer to: * LATE, an acronym which could stand for: ** Limbic-predominant age-related TDP-43 encephalopathy, a proposed form of dementia ** Local-authority trading enterprise, a New Zealand business law ** Local average treatment effect, ...

Description

Mycteroptids were medium-sized to fairly large mycteropoids with parabolic prosoma and a hastate telson with paired ventral keels. They had a culticular ornament of scales or mucrones and unlike the hibbertopterids, appendage IV was non-spiniferous. The first and second opisthosomal tergites were strongly developed and elongated. The heads of mycteroptids were subtrapezoid in shape with small compound eyes. 1955. Merostomata. ''Treatise on Invertebrate Paleontology, Part P Arthropoda 2, Chelicerata'', P39. Mycteroptids only used appendages II and III to capture prey, whilst hibberopterids used II, III and IV.

Genera and species

Three of the four genera included in the Mycteroptidae, '' Mycterops'', '' Woodwardopterus'' and ''

Megarachne ''Megarachne'' is a genus of eurypterid, an extinct group of aquatic arthropods. Fossils of ''Megarachne'' have been discovered in deposits of Late Carboniferous age, from the Gzhelian stage, in San Luis, Argentina. The fossils of the single and ...

'' might represent different ontogenetic stages of each other based on the sizes of the referred specimens and the patterns of mucronation. This would sink the genera ''Woodwardopterus'' and ''Megarachne'' into ''Mycterops''. Family Mycteroptidae Cope, 1886 * '' Mycterops'' Cope, 1886 ** ?'' Mycterops blairi'' Waterston, 1968 ** '' Mycterops matthieui'' Pruvost, 1924 ** '' Mycterops ordinatus'' Cope, 1886 ** ?'' Mycterops whitei'' Schram, 1984 * '' Woodwardopterus'' Kjellesvig-Waering, 1959 ** '' Woodwardopterus scabrosus'' (Woodward, 1887) ** '' Woodwardopterus freemanorum'' Poschmanna & Rozefelds, 2021 * ''

'' Hünicken, 1980 ** ''

Megarachne servinei ''Megarachne'' is a genus of eurypterid, an extinct group of aquatic arthropods. Fossils of ''Megarachne'' have been discovered in deposits of Late Carboniferous age, from the Gzhelian stage, in San Luis, Argentina. The fossils of the single and ...

'' Hünicken, 1980 *'' Hastimima'' White, 1908 **'' Hastimima whitei'' White, 1908

References

Stylonurina Pennsylvanian first appearances Permian extinctions Prehistoric arthropod families {{eurypterid-stub

Description

Genera and species

See also

References