Rhinocarcinosoma
Sign in to saveRhinocarcinosoma is a genus of eurypterid, an extinct group of aquatic arthropods. Fossils of Rhinocarcinosoma have been discovered in deposits ranging of Late Silurian age in the United States, Canada and Vietnam. The genus contains three species, the American R. cicerops and R. vaningeni and the Vietnamese R. dosonensis. The generic name is derived from the related genus Carcinosoma, and the Greek ῥινός (rhinós, "nose"), referring to the unusual shovel-shaped protrusion on the front of the carapace (head plate) of Rhinocarcinosoma, its most distinctive feature.
Wikidata facts
- Parent taxon
- Carcinosomatidae
- Image
- The Eurypterida of New York plate 36.jpg
Show 5 more facts
- taxon rank
- genus
- taxon name
- Rhinocarcinosoma
- start time
- 418700000-
- end time
- 416000000-
- Commons category
- Rhinocarcinosoma
Sources (1)
via Wikidata · CC0
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Encyclopedic overview
6 sectionsContents
- Description
- History of research
- Classification
- Palaeoecology
- See also
- References
Rhinocarcinosoma is a genus of eurypterid, an extinct group of aquatic arthropods. Fossils of Rhinocarcinosoma have been discovered in deposits ranging of Late Silurian age in the United States, Canada and Vietnam. The genus contains three species, the American R. cicerops and R. vaningeni and the Vietnamese R. dosonensis. The generic name is derived from the related genus Carcinosoma, and the Greek ῥινός (rhinós, "nose"), referring to the unusual shovel-shaped protrusion on the front of the carapace (head plate) of Rhinocarcinosoma, its most distinctive feature.
Other than the protrusion, Rhinocarcinosoma was anatomically very similar to its close relative, Eusarcana, though it lacked the scorpion-like telson (the posteriormost division of the body) of that genus. Further distinguishing features include more slender appendages and slightly different ornamentation of scales. In terms of size, Rhinocarcinosoma was a medium-sized carcinosomatid eurypterid, with the largest species, R. vaningeni, reaching lengths of 39 centimetres (15.4 in).
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Rhinocarcinosoma” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.