The Mixopteridae are a family of , an extinct group of chelicerate commonly known as "sea scorpions". The family is one of two families contained in the superfamily Carcinosomatoidea (along with Carcinosomatidae), which in turn is one of the superfamilies classified as part of the suborder Eurypterina.
According to a 2024 paper, this family may be paraphyletic, containing modern scorpions.
Description
Mixopterids were characterized by large
with scattered
or semicircular scales. The
prosoma (head) was
subquadrate, protruding
. The
chelicerae (claws in front of the mouth) were small. The first two pairs of walking legs were strongly developed, with long paired spines. The third and fourth walking legs were moderately sized, with short spines. The
preabdomen, the front portion of the body, was narrow with axial furrows, while the
postabdomen was narrow. The
telson was a curved spine.
[ 1955. Merostomata. Treatise on Invertebrate Paleontology, Part P Arthropoda 2, Chelicerata, P34-P35.]
Genera
-
Order Eurypterida Burmeister, 1843
-
Superfamily Carcinosomatoidea Burmeister, 1845
-
: Family Mixopteridae Caster & Kjellesvig-Waering, 1955
-
:: Genus Mixopterus Ruedemann, 1921
-
:: Genus Lanarkopterus Størmer, 1936
-
::Genus Terropterus Wang et al., 2021
See also
