Biology:Bellinurus

Short description: Extinct genus of horseshoe crab relatives

Bellinurus Temporal range: from Devonian to Carboniferous, 409.1–402.5 Ma PreЄ Є O S D C P T J K Pg N
Fossils of Bellinurus lunatus (syn. B. belulus) from Coal Brook Dale, England, on display at Galerie de paléontologie et d'anatomie comparée in Paris.
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Subphylum:	Chelicerata
Order:	Xiphosura
Family:	Bellinuridae
Genus:	Bellinurus

Bellinurus is an extinct genus of arthropods belonging to the order Xiphosura.

These ancient freshwater arthropods, related to modern horseshoe crabs, lived from the Devonian period (from 409.1 to 402.5 Ma) to the Carboniferous period.

Bellinurus species could reach a length of about 37 millimetres (1.5 in).

Distribution

Fossils of species within this genus have been found in the Cretaceous sediments of England and in the Devonian of Russia.

References

• Walter Baldwin Prestwichia anthrax and Belinurus lunatus from Sparth Bottoms, Rochdale
• E. R. Eller A review of the xiphosuran genus Belinurus with the description of a new species, B Alleganyensis

External links

• Louisville Fossils
• Horseshoe Crabs

A restoration of Bellinurus.

Wikidata ☰ Q18325444 entry