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Aquilonifer
Extinct arthropod From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Aquilonifer spinosus is an extinct species of arthropod from the Silurian period.[2][3] It is known from a single fossil specimen found in the Wenlock Series Lagerstätte of Herefordshire, England, in rocks about 430 million years old. The 1 cm long specimen is a stem-group mandibulate, not directly related to any living species. The many-legged, eyeless adult has ten unusual tethered appendages, interpreted as juveniles attached to the parent, in a unique form and previously unknown brooding behaviour.[1]
Studies in 2018 and 2022 recovered Aquilonifer as a possible close relative of Pycnogonida and Marrellomorpha, suggesting that the latter is a paraphyletic group, but this result was considered unexpected by the authors of both studies.[4][5]
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Etymology
"Aquilone" is Italian for "toy kite", and the suffix "–ifer" means "to carry".[3] "Spinosus" means "spiny" in Latin. Its discoverers have nicknamed it "the kite runner".[2]
Description
The length of the body from rostrum to telson is 9.5 millimetres (0.37 in). They lacked eyes but had a pair of antennae the same length as the main body. The cerci are 7.3 millimetres (0.29 in) long. The head shield has a narrow, flat rostrum and 4 pairs of long curved spines projecting laterally. On the underside of the head, along with the antennae they have a pair of chelae-like appendages and 2 pairs of appendages similar to the limbs of the trunk. The first 10 body segments have 2 pairs of spines similar to those on the head, while the 11th body segment only has one pair of short, posteriorly projecting spines. Each body segment has a pair of limbs, each with a long, possibly filamentous exopod projecting anteriorly.[1]
The 10 individuals proposed to be juvenile Aquilonifer are contained in lemon-shaped capsules that range from .6–2 millimetres (0.024–0.079 in) in length, and are attached to the spines of the adult specimen by long threads.[1]
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References
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