New austrolimulid from Russia supports role of Early Triassic horseshoe crabs as opportunistic taxa
Horseshoe crabs are extant marine euchelicerates that have a fossil record extending well into the Palaeozoic. Extreme xiphosurid morphologies arose during this evolutionary history. These forms often reflected the occupation of freshwater or marginal conditions. This is particularly the case for Au...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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PeerJ Inc.
2021-06-01
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| Series: | PeerJ |
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| Online Access: | https://peerj.com/articles/11709.pdf |
| _version_ | 1797421837782614016 |
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| author | Russell D.C. Bicknell Dmitry E. Shcherbakov |
| author_facet | Russell D.C. Bicknell Dmitry E. Shcherbakov |
| author_sort | Russell D.C. Bicknell |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Horseshoe crabs are extant marine euchelicerates that have a fossil record extending well into the Palaeozoic. Extreme xiphosurid morphologies arose during this evolutionary history. These forms often reflected the occupation of freshwater or marginal conditions. This is particularly the case for Austrolimulidae—a xiphosurid family that has recently been subject to thorough taxonomic examination. Expanding the austrolimulid record, we present new material from the Olenekian-aged Petropavlovka Formation in European Russia and assign this material to Attenborolimulus superspinosus gen. et sp. nov. A geometric morphometric analysis of 23 horseshoe crab genera illustrates that the new taxon is distinct from limulid and paleolimulid morphologies, supporting the assignment within Austrolimulidae. In considering Triassic austrolimulids, we suggest that the hypertrophy or reduction in exoskeletal sections illustrate how species within the family evolved as opportunistic taxa after the end-Permian extinction. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T07:23:11Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-b2ace3ed430f44d7807f34b105f28583 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2167-8359 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T07:23:11Z |
| publishDate | 2021-06-01 |
| publisher | PeerJ Inc. |
| record_format | Article |
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| spelling | doaj.art-b2ace3ed430f44d7807f34b105f285832023-12-03T07:14:15ZengPeerJ Inc.PeerJ2167-83592021-06-019e1170910.7717/peerj.11709New austrolimulid from Russia supports role of Early Triassic horseshoe crabs as opportunistic taxaRussell D.C. Bicknell0Dmitry E. Shcherbakov1Palaeoscience Research Centre, School of Environmental and Rural Science, University of New England, Armidale, NSW, AustraliaBorissiak Paleontological Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, RussiaHorseshoe crabs are extant marine euchelicerates that have a fossil record extending well into the Palaeozoic. Extreme xiphosurid morphologies arose during this evolutionary history. These forms often reflected the occupation of freshwater or marginal conditions. This is particularly the case for Austrolimulidae—a xiphosurid family that has recently been subject to thorough taxonomic examination. Expanding the austrolimulid record, we present new material from the Olenekian-aged Petropavlovka Formation in European Russia and assign this material to Attenborolimulus superspinosus gen. et sp. nov. A geometric morphometric analysis of 23 horseshoe crab genera illustrates that the new taxon is distinct from limulid and paleolimulid morphologies, supporting the assignment within Austrolimulidae. In considering Triassic austrolimulids, we suggest that the hypertrophy or reduction in exoskeletal sections illustrate how species within the family evolved as opportunistic taxa after the end-Permian extinction.https://peerj.com/articles/11709.pdfXiphosuridaEnd-Permian extinctionTriassic recoveryGeometric morphometricsNew speciesExceptional preservation |
| spellingShingle | Russell D.C. Bicknell Dmitry E. Shcherbakov New austrolimulid from Russia supports role of Early Triassic horseshoe crabs as opportunistic taxa PeerJ Xiphosurida End-Permian extinction Triassic recovery Geometric morphometrics New species Exceptional preservation |
| title | New austrolimulid from Russia supports role of Early Triassic horseshoe crabs as opportunistic taxa |
| title_full | New austrolimulid from Russia supports role of Early Triassic horseshoe crabs as opportunistic taxa |
| title_fullStr | New austrolimulid from Russia supports role of Early Triassic horseshoe crabs as opportunistic taxa |
| title_full_unstemmed | New austrolimulid from Russia supports role of Early Triassic horseshoe crabs as opportunistic taxa |
| title_short | New austrolimulid from Russia supports role of Early Triassic horseshoe crabs as opportunistic taxa |
| title_sort | new austrolimulid from russia supports role of early triassic horseshoe crabs as opportunistic taxa |
| topic | Xiphosurida End-Permian extinction Triassic recovery Geometric morphometrics New species Exceptional preservation |
| url | https://peerj.com/articles/11709.pdf |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT russelldcbicknell newaustrolimulidfromrussiasupportsroleofearlytriassichorseshoecrabsasopportunistictaxa AT dmitryeshcherbakov newaustrolimulidfromrussiasupportsroleofearlytriassichorseshoecrabsasopportunistictaxa |