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Age:
Early Silurian (Llandovery) to Late Devonian (Famennian);
436 mya - 359 mya.
Geographic
Distribution:
Scotland, Southwest England, Arctic Canada.
Maximum
Size:
50 cm
Extra
information:
Drepanopterus
was one of the first genera to be recognised beyond Eurypterus
and Stylonurus. The Silurian species is known
from marine strata, while by the Late Devonian they are
found in freshwater environments. It probably walked with
an octopodous (eight-legged) or hexapodous (six-legged)
gate and used its two anterior pairs of appendages to feel
for prey such as worms or small crustaceans in the substrate.
The prey was then swept up and entangled in the modified
'blades' on the appendages before being passed back to the
chelicerae and coxae for processing.
Further
reading:
Braddy,
S. J. & Dunlop, J. A. 2000. Early Devonian eurypterids
from the Northwest Territories of Arctic Canada. Canadian
Journal of Earth Sciences 37, 1167-1175.
Lamsdell,
J. C., Braddy,
S. J. & Tetlie, O. E. 2009. Redescription of Drepanopterus
abonensis (Chelicerata: Eurypterida: Stylonurina) from
the Late Devonian of Portishead, UK. Palaeontology
52, 1113-1139.
Laurie,
M. 1892. On some eurypterid remains from the Upper Silurian
rocks of the Pentland Hills. Transactions of the Royal
Society of Edinburgh, Earth Sciences 37,
151–162.
Laurie,
M. 1899. On a Silurian scorpion and some additional eurypterid
remains from the Pentland Hills. Transactions of the
Royal Society of Edinburgh, Earth Sciences 39,
575-589.
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