Seppo koponeni
| Seppo koponeni | |
|---|---|
| |
| Holotype and only known specimen MB.A 2966. | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Subphylum: | Chelicerata |
| Class: | Arachnida |
| Order: | Araneae |
| Infraorder: | Araneomorphae |
| Family: | incertae sedis |
| Genus: | †Seppo Selden & Dunlop, 2014 |
| Species: | †S. koponeni
|
| Binomial name | |
| †Seppo koponeni Selden & Dunlop, 2014
| |
Seppo is an extinct genus of spiders, possibly of the superfamily Palpimanoidea, that lived about 180 million years ago, in the Early Jurassic (Lower Toarcian) of what is now Europe. The sole species Seppo koponeni is known from a single fossil from Grimmen, Germany.[1] With the scorpion Liassoscorpionides, it is one of the two only known arachnids from the Lower Jurassic of Germany.[1] Seppo is the first unequivocal Early Jurassic spider, and was recovered from the Green Series member of the Toarcian Ciechocinek Formation.[1]
Description
The spider was described from a single female specimen. It is unknown if was an adult.[1] The carapace is unknown, and besides that has preserved bowed converging sides with a curved posterior margin with straight posterior border of the labium, with row of at least 12 peg teeth along the cheliceral furrow, no true teeth, scattered setae on anterior surface, and slender pedipalps.[1] Legs are preserved, the first and second being much longer than the third and fourth. All are well covered in setae and bristles, especially on the tibiae and metatarsi of leg I.[1] It most likely belongs to the Palpimanoidea, based on the presence of cheliceral peg teeth.[1]
Discovery
The single known specimen was found on locality known for its fossil insects in
Phylogeny
The genus was described as the oldest
Ecology
Seppo koponeni is one of the only two arachnids ever to have been found in the Toarcian rocks of north Germany, outnumbered by several thousand insect specimens at several localities.[6][1] The different between the number of insects as opposed to arachnids has not been studied in depth. A possibility is that because insects can fly over water, they fall into it far more easily than spiders.[1] It is unclear how the spider ended on a marine clay deposit, far from the land, although several theories have been suggested: ballooning is a possibility as a method of transport, perhaps helped by severe storms, hurricanes, and tornadoes.[1] Another possibility might be that it was carried out to sea on floating vegetation, as wood remains have been recovered in the deposit.[1]
On nearby land, ground dwellers were represented by arachnids, such as Seppo and scorpions, but also by
References
- ^ PMID 25544628. Retrieved 30 July 2021.
- ^ a b c d e Ansorge, J. (2003). "Insects from the Lower Toarcian of Middle Europe and England". Proceedings of the Second Palaeoentomological Congress, Acta Zoologica Cracoviensia. 46 (1): 291–310. Retrieved 30 July 2021.
- S2CID 84905157. Retrieved 26 October 2021.
- PMID 25544618. Retrieved 26 October 2021.
- ^ S2CID 207937170. Retrieved 26 October 2021.
- ^ Ansorge, J. (2007). "Liastongrube Grimmen". Biuletyn Państwowego Instytutu Geologicznego. 424 (1): 37–41. Retrieved 26 October 2021.