Bunaia
Extinct genus of chelicerate
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Bunaia is a genus of synziphosurine, a paraphyletic group of fossil chelicerate arthropods.[1][2] Bunaia was tentatively placed as part of the clade Planaterga,[1][3][2] however a 2024 study found it to be within Offacolidae instead.[4] The genus contains at least one species: Bunaia woodwardi from the Silurian period in Svalbard, Norway[5][3] and the Bertie Group of Ontario [4]
| Bunaia Temporal range: | |
|---|---|
| |
| Fossil of Bunaia woodwardi | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Subphylum: | Chelicerata |
| Family: | †Offacolidae |
| Genus: | †Bunaia Clarke, 1919 |
| Type species | |
| †Bunaia woodwardi Clarke, 1919 | |
| Species | |
| |
Description
Initially, the species was known only from poorly preserved specimens composed of semicircular carapace, fragments of opisthosoma and disarticulated telson.[5][6] The aforementioned 2024 study described additional specimens, which revealed "a pair of elongated chelicerae in the prosoma, followed posteriorly by five pairs of biramous appendages, a first pre-abdomen somite bearing a pair of paddle-like uniramous appendages (exopods) and a ventral pretelsonic process."[4]
Taxonomy
The placement of "Bunaia" heintzi (known only by a single carapace from the Silurian period in the United States) within this genus has been questioned.[6]
