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Eocarcinosoma

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Eocarcinosoma is a genus of eurypterid, an extinct group of aquatic arthropods. The type and only species of Eocarcinosoma, E. batrachophthalmus, is known from deposits of Late Ordovician age in the United States. The generic name is derived from the related genus Carcinosoma, and the Greek () meaning 'dawn', referring to the earlier age of the genus compared to other carcinosomatid eurypterids.

Wikidata facts

Parent taxon
Carcinosomatidae
Image
The Eurypterida of New York plate 84.jpg
Show 5 more facts
start time
449000000-
end time
443800000-
Commons category
Eocarcinosoma
taxon name
Eocarcinosoma
taxon rank
genus
Sources (1)

via Wikidata · CC0

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Encyclopedic overview

7 sections
Contents
  • Description
  • History of research
  • Classification
  • Palaeoecology
  • See also
  • Notes
  • References

Eocarcinosoma is a genus of eurypterid, an extinct group of aquatic arthropods. The type and only species of Eocarcinosoma, E. batrachophthalmus, is known from deposits of Late Ordovician age in the United States. The generic name is derived from the related genus Carcinosoma, and the Greek () meaning 'dawn', referring to the earlier age of the genus compared to other carcinosomatid eurypterids.

Eocarcinosoma is known only from a single specimen, a well-preserved small prosoma (head). In life it would have been a very small eurypterid, given that the head measures just 2.05 centimetres (0.8 in) in length. The main distinguishing features from other carcinosomatids were the eyes being placed on the margins of the carapace (head plate) and the head being more triangular in shape than in its later relatives. Although initially believed to be an adult given the relatively small size of the eyes, some researchers believe Eocarcinosoma to represent a juvenile specimen of the eurypterid Megalograptus.

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Eocarcinosoma” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.

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