OnyChopterella was a small euryopterid that lived in the Late Ordovician. It had spines on the second to fourth pair of appendages and a lack of them on the fifth and sixth pair. This is the reason why it has been called a ‘eurypterids-scorpion relationship’ It may have had a relationship with the scorpion-like creatures of today, as it is thought to have used its legs to dig.
About Onychopterella in brief
Fossils of Onychopterella have been discovered in deposits from the Late Ordovician to the Late Silurian. The species has received attention from eurypterid researchers for its terminal claw in the sixth pair of appendages or swimming legs. The largest species of the genus was O. kokomoensis with a total length of 16 centimetres long, followed by O. augusti and O. pumilus. The outline of the carapace varied according to the species. It was anteriorly rounded in the corners and resembled a horseshoe in one species and a reniform eyes in another. The metastoma is not known in its entirety, which only the posterior part, which is rounded, is known. It is the only species with considerably large epimera in more detail than the pretisthosoma of O. augusi is known in more than one species. The size of the largest one is estimated at 16 cm, representing the biggest species of. the family Ony Chopterellidae. The smallest species, O. Pumilus, measured only 4 centimetre. The postabodmen was wider than the fourth segment in the fourth species, the fourth being the widest, decreasing decreasing in decreasing length in the rest of the body. This turned out to be highly similar to that of the scorpions of today. Most of the time it was likely in the stratum, probably using its spines to walk and its head to dig in the ground.
Like the other onych opterellids, OnyChopterella was a small euryopterid. The only species that was considerably large was the epimara in O. Kokomo ensis, which was considerably larger than the opimera in O augussi. It had reniform eyes, standing out for their size and prominence in the latter species. Only the metastoma of the third species is known, and it is only the anterior part of the preabdomen that is rounded as it gradually increased, while the postabdoman was compact and compact in length in posteriorly. It has been suggested that it was a genus that was able to swim, but this has not been proved. It may have had a relationship with the scorpion-like creatures of today, as it is thought to have used its legs to dig. It also had spines on the second to fourth pair of. appendages and a lack of them on the fifth and sixth pair. of appendage and a lanceolate or styliform form of the telson and other characteristics. This is the reason why it has been called a ‘eurypterids-scorpion relationship’ It is also the type genus of the basal family of eurypterines Ony chopterelliidae together with Alkenopterus and Tylopterella, characterized by the presence of spines.
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This page is based on the article Onychopterella published in Wikipedia (as of Nov. 06, 2020) and was automatically summarized using artificial intelligence.
