Mixopteridae

Mixopteridae
Temporal range: early Silurian, 443.8–416 Ma
Fossil of Mixopterus kiaeri exhibited at the Moscow Paleontological Museum.
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Chelicerata
Order: Eurypterida
Infraorder: Diploperculata
Superfamily: Carcinosomatoidea
Family: Mixopteridae
Caster & Kjellesvig-Waering, 1955
Type species
Mixopterus multispinosus
Ruedemann, 1921
Genera
Synonyms
  • Lanarkopteridae Tollerton, 1989

The Mixopteridae are a family of eurypterids, an extinct group of chelicerate arthropods commonly known as "sea scorpions". The family is one of two families contained in the superfamily Carcinosomatoidea (along with Carcinosomatidae), which in turn is one of the superfamilies classified as part of the suborder Eurypterina.

According to a 2024 paper, this family may be paraphyletic, containing modern scorpions.[1] However, the vast majority of phylogenetic analyses classify scorpions as arachnids, not eurypterids, making this claim unlikely.[2]

  1. ^ Braddy, Simon J. (14 September 2024). "Carcinosomatoid eurypterid palaeoecology and phylogeny: ichnology and palaeocommunities". Neues Jahrbuch für Geologie und Paläontologie - Abhandlungen. 312 (2): 167–181. doi:10.1127/njgpa/2024/1206.
  2. ^ Waggoner, B. M. (12 October 1999). "Eurypterida: Morphology". University of California Museum of Paleontology Berkeley. Archived from the original on 23 October 2020. Retrieved 20 October 2020.