Geralinura carbonaria (Arachnida; Uropygi) from Mazon Creek, Illinois, USA, and the origin of subchelate pedipalps in whip scorpions
Abstract
The whip scorpions (Arachnida: Uropygi) from the Pennsylvanian Coal Measures of Mazon Creek, Illinois, USA are restudied. Four Mazon Creek uropygid specimens have previously been described and a fifth is added here. Contrary to earlier reports, none of the specimens lack eyes and the sternum is similarly shaped in all the specimens. Consequently, the two younger names,Geralinura similisPetrunkevitch, 1913 andG. giganteaPetrunkevitch, 1913 are here treated as junior synonyms ofG. carbonariaScudder, 1884. The morphology of the pedipalps is more like those of some modern amblypygids, being spiniferous and non-chelate, suggesting the subchelate palps found in all Recent whip scorpions is an apomorphy not yet incorporated into the bodyplan ofG. carbonaria.Indeed, subchelate palps also seem to be absent in other species of this age. For completeness, we summarise here the six Pennsylvanian whip scorpions currently recognised—including sketch reconstructions—with comments on further differences between the Paleozoic and living taxa.GeralinuraScudder, 1884 is reserved forG. carbonariaand the British speciesG. britannicaPocock, 1911.ProthelyphonusFriĉ, 1904 is reinstated for the Czech speciesP. bohemicus(Kuŝta, 1884).Parageralinuragen. nov. is proposed for the widely overlooked Dutch speciesP. neerlandica(Laurentiaux-Vieria and Laurentiaux, 1961) and the German speciesP. naufraga(Brauckmann and Koch, 1983). All the Coal Measures whip scorpion genera are treated here as plesion taxa, basal to the Thelyphonidae, which can be defined as whip scorpions with a fully subchelate pedipalp, the chelae formed from large and distinct patellar and tibial apophyses.
- Publication:
-
Journal of Paleontology
- Pub Date:
- March 2008
- DOI:
- 10.1666/06-138.1
- Bibcode:
- 2008JPal...82..299T