Megarachne
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Megarachne Temporal range: Pennsylvanian |
|
|---|---|
 |
|
| Megarachne servinei | |
Scientific classification  |
|
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Merostomata |
| Order: | †Eurypterida |
| Superfamily: | †Hibbertopteroidea |
| Family: | †Mycteroptidae |
| Genus: | †Megarachne Hünicken, 1980[1] |
| Type species | |
| Megarachne servinei Hünicken, 1980 |
|
Megarachne servinei, the only species belonging to the genus Megarachne, is an extinct 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]
[edit] See Also
[edit] References
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.
[edit] External links
- The Dinosaurs Of The Spider World: In Search Of Megarachne servinei
- Was Megarachne the world's largest spider? New information on fossilised South American giant
- Spider as big as a dog didn't exist
 |
This prehistoric arthropod-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
