Parahughmilleria

Parahughmilleria
Temporal range: Llandovery-Eifelian 435–387.7 Ma
Fossils of P. maria.
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Chelicerata
Order: Eurypterida
Superfamily: Adelophthalmoidea
Family: Adelophthalmidae
Genus: Parahughmilleria
Kjellesvig-Waering, 1961
Type species
Parahughmilleria salteri
Kjellesvig-Waering, 1961
Species
8 species
  • P. bellistriata
    Kjellesvig-Waering, 1950
  • P. hefteri
    Størmer, 1973
  • P. longa
    Shpiney, 2012
  • P. major
    Størmer, 1973
  • P. maria
    Clarke, 1907
  • P. matarakensis
    Pirozhnikov, 1957
  • P. salteri
    Kjellesvig-Waering, 1961
  • P. statzi
    Størmer, 1936

Parahughmilleria (meaning "near Hughmilleria"[1]) is a genus of eurypterid, an extinct group of aquatic arthropods. Fossils of Parahughmilleria have been discovered in deposits of the Devonian and Silurian age in the United States, Canada, Russia, Germany, Luxembourg and Great Britain, and have been referred to several different species. The first fossils of Parahughmilleria, discovered in the Shawangunk Mountains in 1907, were initially assigned to Eurypterus. It would not be until 54 years later when Parahughmilleria would be described.

Parahughmilleria is classified in the family Adelophthalmidae, the only clade in the superfamily Adelophthalmoidea. This clade was characterised by their small size, their parabolic (approximately U-shaped) carapaces and the presence of epimera (lateral "extensions" of the segment) on the seventh segment, among others. Like its relatives, Parahughmilleria possessed reniform (bean-shaped) eyes and spines on its appendages. The largest species was P. major at 12.5 cm (5 in), making it a small-sized eurypterid, although it has been suggested that it and P. hefteri may represent the same species.

  1. ^ Meaning of para- at www.dictionary.com. Retrieved 17 July 2018.