Melbournopterus
Genus of prehistoric brachiopod
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Melbournopterus is a genus of prehistoric chelicerate or brachiopod, known from the Upper Silurian of Australia. It is of uncertain taxonomic placement within the subphylum Chelicerata.[1] Lamsdell, Percival and Poschmann (2013) argued that Melbournopterus crossotus is not a chelicerate at all, and interpreted its type specimen as the dorsal valve of a craniate brachiopod.[2]
| Melbournopterus | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Brachiopoda (?) |
| Genus: | †Melbournopterus Caster & Kjellesvig-Waering, 1953 |
| Species: | †M. crossotus |
| Binomial name | |
| †Melbournopterus crossotus Caster & Kjellesvig-Waering, 1953 | |
The only found specimen was found in 1953 by members of the Bendigo Field Naturalist Club, located in Heathcote, Bendigo. It was identified and named by Cincinnati University, who named it after the nearby state capital.[3]
Description
If Melbournopterus is a chelicerate, it is distinguished by its prosoma (head), which is bell-shaped and emarginate in front, with subrectangular compound eyes located posteriorly on the prosoma, which strongly converge anteriorly. It was small in size, and its abdomen and appendages are unknown.[4]
Species
- Melbournopterus Caster & Kjellesvig-Waering, 1953
- M. crossotus, Caster & Kjellesvig-Waering, 1953, Upper Silurian, Australia