Megarachne

Megarachne


Megarachne
Temporal range: Pennsylvanian
Megarachne servinei
Scientific classification e
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Merostomata
Order: Eurypterida
Superfamily: Type species
Megarachne servinei
Hünicken, 1980

Megarachne servinei, the only species belonging to the genus Megarachne, was an Upper Carboniferous (Pennsylvanian) eurypterid found near Córdoba, Argentina.[2] It was originally described as a spider with a body length of 339 millimetres (13.3 in), which would have made it the largest spider ever to have existed.[2] In 2005, the fossil specimen was reexamined and determined to be a small eurypterid within the family Mycteroptidae rather than a spider.[2]

See Also

References

  1. ^ Mario A. Hünicken (1980). "A giant fossil spider (Megarachne servinei) from Bajo de Véliz, Upper Carboniferous, Argentina". Boletin de la Academia Nacional de Ciencias, Córdoba, Argentina 53: 317–341. 
  2. ^ a b c Paul A. Selden, José A. Corronca & Mario A. Hünicken (2005). "The true identity of the supposed giant fossil spider Megarachne" (PDF). Biology Letters 1 (1): 44–48. doi:10.1098/rsbl.2004.0272. PMC 1629066. PMID 17148124. http://www.museunacional.ufrj.br/mndi/Aracnologia/Eurypterida/Selden%20et%20al%202005%20Megarachne.pdf. 

External links

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