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Xiphosurida
| Description | Xiphosura is an order of arthropods related to arachnids, or, according to one recent study, actual arachnids. They are sometimes called horseshoe crabs (a name applied more specifically to the only extant family, Limulidae). They first appeared in the Hirnantian (Late Ordovician). Currently, there are only four living species. They are members of the order Xiphosura, which contains two suborders, Xiphosurida and Synziphosurina. From Wikipedia article at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xiphosurida, which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Source Data |
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| Rank | order | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Taxonomy (GBIF) | Life : Animalia : Arthropoda : Merostomata : Xiphosurida | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Taxonomy (PBDB) | Life : Animalia : Arthropoda : Xiphosura : Xiphosurida | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Taxonomic Status (GBIF) | accepted | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Classification (PBDB,GBIF) |
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| Scientific Name | Xiphosurida | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Opinions (PBDB) |
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| Status (PBDB) | extant | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Taxon Size (PBDB) | 3,760 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Extant Size (PBDB) | 782 (21%) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| First Recorded Appearance | 468 - 466 Ma Middle Ordovician | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Motility | actively mobile (based on Xiphosura) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Vision | limited | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Diet | carnivore (based on Xiphosura) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Primary Reference (PBDB) | J. J. Sepkoski, Jr. 2002. A compendium of fossil marine animal genera. Bulletins of American Paleontology 363:1-560 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Common Name(s) | カブトガニ／剣尾 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Wikipedia | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xiphosurida |
Fossil Distribution
Subtaxa
| Name | Status | Common Name(s) | Fossil Occurrences | Oldest | Youngest |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bellinurina ✝ suborder | listed (PBDB) | 16 | 409 Ma Early/Lower Devonian | 303 Ma Carboniferous | |
 Limulina ✝suborder | listed (PBDB) | 15 | 331 Ma Carboniferous | 164 Ma Middle Jurassic | |
| Bellinuridae family | accepted (GBIF) | No associated record in PBDB | |||
| Euproopidae family | accepted (GBIF) | No associated record in PBDB | |||
| Limulidae family | accepted (GBIF) | No associated record in PBDB | |||
| Paleolimulidae family | accepted (GBIF) | No associated record in PBDB | |||
| Archeolimulus ✝ genus | listed (PBDB) | 1 | 466 Ma Middle Ordovician | 466 Ma Middle Ordovician | |
| Bellinuroopsis ✝ genus | listed (PBDB) | ||||
| Bunodella ✝ genus | listed (PBDB) | ||||
| Casterolimulus ✝ genus | accepted (GBIF) listed (PBDB) | ||||
| Elleria ✝ genus | listed (PBDB) | ||||
| Heterolimulus ✝ genus | listed (PBDB) | 1 | 242 Ma Middle Triassic | 242 Ma Middle Triassic | |
| Limulites ✝ genus | accepted (GBIF) listed (PBDB) | ||||
| Limulus genus | listed (PBDB) | 0 Ma Extant | |||
| Mesolimulus ✝ genus | listed (PBDB) | 2 | 156 Ma Jurassic | 151 Ma Late Jurassic | |
| Moravurus ✝ genus | listed (PBDB) | ||||
| Neobelinuropsis ✝ genus | listed (PBDB) | ||||
| Psammolimulus ✝ genus | listed (PBDB) | 1 | 251 Ma Early/Lower Triassic | 251 Ma Early/Lower Triassic | |
| Rolfeia ✝ genus | listed (PBDB) | ||||
| Tachypleus genus | listed (PBDB) | 0 Ma Extant | |||
| Valloisella ✝ genus | listed (PBDB) | 1 | 318 Ma Carboniferous | 318 Ma Carboniferous | |
| Victalimulus ✝ genus | listed (PBDB) | 1 | 145 Ma Late Jurassic | 145 Ma Late Jurassic | |
| Planaterga unranked clade | listed (PBDB) | 3,993 | 468 Ma Middle Ordovician | 0 Ma Extant | |
Synonymy List
| Year | Name and Author |
|---|---|
| 1802 | Xiphosurida Latreille |
| 1919 | Omoptilus Pruvost p. 103 |
| 1919 | Omoptilus hispidus Pruvost pp. 106-109 figs. Pl IV fig 1-5 |
| 1922 | Omoptilus Handlirsch p. 57 |
| 1922 | Omoptilus hispidus Handlirsch p. 57 |
| 1939 | Omoptilus Handlirsch |
| 1955 | Xiphosurida Størmer p. 14 |
| 2002 | Xiphosurida Sepkoski, Jr. |
| 2010 | Xiphosurida Krzemiński et al. p. 133 |
| 2013 | Xiphosurida Lamsdell p. 20 |
References
Data courtesy of: PBDB: The Paleobiology Database, Creative Commons CC-BY licenced. , GBIF: the Global Biodiversity Information Facility, various licences, iDigBio, various licences, and EOL: The Encyclopedia of Life (Open Data Public Domain). Because fossils are made of minerals too!
Mazon Creek, Will County, Illinois, USA