Abstract
In addition to the previously known eurypterid taxa from Willwerath, remains ofParahughmilleria hefteri, Erieopterus sp., andJaekelopterus rhenaniae are described and figured. Body parts of small pterygotids are interpreted as representing juveniles ofJ. rhenaniae. To further substantiate this interpretation an analysis of telson ontogeny in the SilurianAcutiramus macrophthalmus of New York State, another well-known pterygotid, is included. As a result, it is suggested thatPterygotus juvenis is a juvenile and thus a junior synonym ofA. macrophthalmus. The genital appendages ofJ. rhenaniae show no segmentation and consequently the family Jaekelopteridae is rejected. The palaeoenvironment of the Willwerath eurypterid association, dominated byAdelophthalmus andRhenopterus, is interpreted as a shallow brackish to freshwater/terrestrial setting in a deltaic transitional facies. In contrast,Parahughmilleria-dominated eurypterid associations from the Rhenish Slate Mountains seem to be confined to lagerstätten where a marine influence is more obvious than at Willwerath.
Kurzfassung
Ergänzend zu den bisher von Willwerath bekannt gewordenen Eurypteriden werden Reste vonParahughmilleria hefteri, Erieopterus sp. undJaekelopterus rhenaniae beschrieben und abgebildet. Teile kleiner Pterygotiden werden als juvenile Exemplare vonJ. rhenaniae interpretiert. Eine Analyse der ontogenetischen Variation des Telsons bei dem PterygotidenAcutiramus macrophthalmus aus dem Silur des Staates New York/USA untermauert diese Interpretation und lässt darauf schließen, dassPterygotus juvenis ein Juvenilstadium und damit ein jüngeres Synonym vonA. macrophthalmus darstellt. Da der Genitalanhang vonJ. rhenaniae keine Segmentierung zeigt, wird die Familie Jaekelopteridae eingezogen. Die Willwerather Eurypteriden-Assoziation wird zahlenmäßig von den GattungenAdelophthalmus undRhenopterus dominiert und einem flachen, brackischen bis Süßwasser-dominierten/terrestrischen Ablagerungsraum in einer deltaischen Übergangsfazies zugeordnet. Im Gegensatz dazu stehenParahughmilleria-dominierte Eurypteriden-Assoziationen im Rheinischen Schiefergebirge, die vorzugsweise dort auftreten, wo sich ein mariner Einfluss stärker manifestiert, als es in Willwerath der Fall ist.
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Poschmann, M., Tetlie, O.E. On the Emsian (Lower Devonian) arthropods of the Rhenish Slate Mountains: 5. Rare and poorly known eurypterids from Willwerath, Germany. Paläont. Z. 80, 325–343 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02990208
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02990208