| Hallipterus Temporal range: Devonian,
| |
|---|---|
| |
| Carapace of H. excelsior | |
| |
| Reconstruction after Tetlie (2008) | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Subphylum: | Chelicerata |
| Order: | †Eurypterida |
| Superfamily: | †Kokomopteroidea |
| Family: | †Hardieopteridae |
| Genus: | †Hallipterus Kjellesvig-Waering, 1963 |
| Type species | |
| †Hallipterus excelsior Hall, 1884
| |
| Synonyms | |
| |
Hallipterus is a genus of prehistoric eurypterid classified as part of the family Hardieopteridae.1
Description
Hallipterus was a gigantic Hardieopterid eurypterid. Though some previous estimates have placed its size at over 1.5 meters in length, these were likely excessive.1 Still, assigned specimens suggest a size of over 1 meter long.1
The carapace was subelliptical, greater in length than in width, with a prominent and unornamented marginal rim. The eyes were very small, close to each other and separated by a prominent median ridge with large ocelli at the posterior extremity.2
The chelicerae were simple and elongated. The first walking legs possessed flat and movable spines. The rest of the legs and the opisthosoma remain unknown.2
Species
Hallipterus contains one valid species, H. excelsior, from the Devonian of New York.3 Another species was once recognized from similarly aged deposits in Pennsylvania, "H. lacoanus",2 but it is today seen as synonymous with H. excelsior.1
References
References
- Tetlie, O. E. (2008). "Hallipterus excelsior, a Stylonurid (Chelicerata: Eurypterida) from the Late Devonian Catskill Delta Complex, and Its Phylogenetic Position in the Hardieopteridae". Bulletin of the Peabody Museum of Natural History. 49: 19–99. doi:10.3374/0079-032X(2008)49[19:HEASCE]2.0.CO;2.
- "Page:A Revision of the Families and Genera of the Stylonuracea (Eurypterida).djvu/28 - Wikisource, the free online library". en.wikisource.org. Archived from the original on 2017-12-29. Retrieved 2017-12-28.
- Dunlop, J. A., Penney, D. & Jekel, D. 2015. A summary list of fossil spiders and their relatives. In World Spider Catalog. Natural History Museum Bern, online at http://wsc.nmbe.ch Archived 2021-12-04 at the Wayback Machine , version 16.0 http://www.wsc.nmbe.ch/resources/fossils/Fossils16.0.pdf Archived 2015-11-29 at the Wayback Machine (PDF).