Hallipterus

{{Short description|Extinct genus of arthropods}}

{{Italic title}}

{{Automatic taxobox

| name = Hallipterus

| fossil_range = Devonian, {{fossil_range|383.7|376.1}}

| image = The Eurypterida of New York (1912) (20617594530).jpg

| image_caption = Carapace of H. excelsior

| image2 = Hallipterus.png

| image2_caption = Reconstruction after Tetlie (2008)

| display_parents = 2

| taxon = Hallipterus

| authority = Kjellesvig-Waering, 1963

| type_species = †Hallipterus excelsior

| type_species_authority = Hall, 1884

| synonyms = * Dolichocephala Claypole, 1883

}}

Hallipterus is a genus of prehistoric eurypterid classified as part of the family Hardieopteridae.{{Cite journal | last1 = Tetlie | first1 = O. E. | doi = 10.3374/0079-032X(2008)49[19:HEASCE]2.0.CO;2 | title = Hallipterus excelsior, a Stylonurid (Chelicerata: Eurypterida) from the Late Devonian Catskill Delta Complex, and Its Phylogenetic Position in the Hardieopteridae | journal = Bulletin of the Peabody Museum of Natural History | volume = 49 | pages = 19–99 | year = 2008 }}

Description

File:Hallipterus_excelsior.png

Hallipterus was a gigantic Hardieopterid eurypterid. Though some previous estimates have placed its size at over 1.5 meters in length, these were likely excessive. Still, assigned specimens suggest a size of over 1 meter long.

The carapace was subelliptical, greater in length than in width, with a prominent and unornamented marginal rim. The eyes were very small, close to each other and separated by a prominent median ridge with large ocelli at the posterior extremity.{{Cite web|url=https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Page:A_Revision_of_the_Families_and_Genera_of_the_Stylonuracea_(Eurypterida).djvu/28|title=Page:A Revision of the Families and Genera of the Stylonuracea (Eurypterida).djvu/28 - Wikisource, the free online library|website=en.wikisource.org|language=en|access-date=2017-12-28|archive-date=2017-12-29|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171229052424/https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Page:A_Revision_of_the_Families_and_Genera_of_the_Stylonuracea_(Eurypterida).djvu/28|url-status=live}}

The chelicerae were simple and elongated. The first walking legs possessed flat and movable spines. The rest of the legs and the opisthosoma remain unknown.

Species

Hallipterus contains one valid species, H. excelsior, from the Devonian of New York.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 {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211204084209/http://wsc.nmbe.ch/ |date=2021-12-04 }} , version 16.0 http://www.wsc.nmbe.ch/resources/fossils/Fossils16.0.pdf {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151129013249/http://www.wsc.nmbe.ch/resources/fossils/Fossils16.0.pdf |date=2015-11-29 }} (PDF). Another species was once recognized from similarly aged deposits in Pennsylvania, "H. lacoanus", but it is today seen as synonymous with H. excelsior.

See also

References