Biology:Mongolarachne chaoyangensis
| "Mongolarachne" chaoyangensis | |
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| Suborder: | Pleocyemata
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| Infraorder: | Astacidea
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| Genus: | †"Mongolarachne" Cheng et al., 2019 (preoccupied)
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| Binomial name | |
| †"Mongolarachne" chaoyangensis Cheng et al., 2019
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"Mongolarachne" chaoyangensis is a dubious species of crayfish discovered in the Dawangzhangzi Beds of the Yixian Formation in China , known from a single, poorly preserved specimen, that may be one of, if not, the oldest known fossil crayfish to date.[1] If it were to be properly described as a new species, the genus name would have to be changed since it is preoccupied by an extinct spider.[2]
According to Selden et al. (2019), "M". chaoyangensis is probably the same as Cricoidoscelosus,[1] which is also found in the Yixian Formation, although there is the possibility that "M". chaoyangensis belonged to an entirely new genus.
Discovery and naming
The holotype, D3088, was initially discovered as a crayfish. D3088 was vandalized with paint to make the fossil seem like a spider, possibly to add more value to the fossil. The fossil eventually made its way to the collection stored at the University of Kansas and it was described in 2019 by Cheng et al as a second species of the Jurassic spider Mongolarachne,[3] but it was subsequently shown to be a fossil crayfish when the specimen was analysed with more scrutiny. To distinguish between the paint and real fossil they used a Fluorescence microscope, and the paint was subsequently removed and the fossil has been placed into storage until further research can be done.[1]
Description
It was initially thought to have been a spider until it was determined to have been a hoax. The factors that gave the hoax away is that there were too many segments at the base of the legs, the sternum was absent and the eyes were too large to be those of a spider, but they were large enough to have come from a crayfish.[1]
Classification
Selden et al. (2019) did not classify "M." chaoyangensis within Astacoidea, so for now it is left as a basal crayfish, likely due to the age of the specimen and the unpreparedness of the specimen at the time of publication,[1] although if Selden et al. (2019) is correct, then "Mongolarachne" chaoyangensis is the same animal as the contemporaneous Cricoidoscelosus aethus.[1]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Paul A. Selden; Alison N. Olcott; Matt R. Downen; Dong Ren; Chungkun Shih; Xiaodong Cheng (2019). "The supposed giant spider Mongolarachne chaoyangensis, from the Cretaceous Yixian Formation of China, is a crayfish". Palaeoentomology 2 (5): 515–522. doi:10.11646/palaeoentomology.2.5.15. http://www.paulselden.net/uploads/7/5/3/2/7532217/yixiancrayfish2019.pdf.
- ↑ Selden, P. A.; Shih, C.K.; Ren, D. (2013). "A giant spider from the Jurassic of China reveals greater diversity of the orbicularian stem group". Naturwissenschaften 100 (12): 1171–1181. doi:10.1007/s00114-013-1121-7. PMID 24317464.
- ↑ Xiaodong Cheng; Sizhao Liu; Wenjuan Huang; Li Liu; Hongming Li; Yinxian Li (2019). "A new species of Mongolarachnidae from the Yixian Formation of western Liaoning, China". Acta Geologica Sinica (English Edition) 93 (1): 227–228. doi:10.1111/1755-6724.13780. http://www.geojournals.cn/dzxben/ch/reader/create_pdf.aspx?file_no=2019endzxb01016&flag=1&journal_id=dzxben&year_id=2019.
Wikidata ☰ Q96393772 entry
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