In Depth Hurdia is one of the best recognised of all the anomalocaridid genera, thanks mostly to the large number of specimens that have been found. The feature that makes Hurdia really stand out is the enlarged head that has puzzled many researchers to its purpose. There is no need for such a feature in … Read more
In Depth First discussed by Grimaldi et al in 2002 and again by Grimaldi and Engel in 2005, this little wasp preserved in amber was finally given its own genus in 2006. The holotype specimen (AMNH Bu-051) is the exoskeleton of a female wasp encased in amber, and is preserved well enough to identify it … Read more
In Depth Pambdelurion is thought to have been very similar to the arthropod Kerygmachela, and as such is probably related to Anomalocaris. Unlike Kerygmachela however, Pambdelurion does not possess large spines for spearing prey on its two forward limbs. Instead Pambdelurion had rows of much smaller probably flexible spines which were arranged like combs. It … Read more
In Depth Tainosia is a genus of planthopper that lived in the Dominican Republic during the Miocene. Plant hoppers are small insects that resemble leaves and thorns that are known to ‘hop’ by jumping from one plant to the next. Further Reading - Tainosia quisqueyae gen. and sp. nov. from the Oligocene/Miocene Dominican amber (Hemiptera: … Read more
In Depth Eriocampa is a genus of sawfly that is still alive today, but is also known from several extinct species that seem to have been common in North America during the Eocene, though one species, E. oligocenica, is recorded as being alive during the Oligocene of France. At the time of writing there are … Read more
In Depth Eoplectreurys was (and at the time of writing still is) at the time of its description to be the oldest known Haplogynae spider, the genus going back as least as far as the mid Jurassic, while previous examples were only known as far back as the early Cretaceous. This group of spiders is … Read more
In Depth Given the informal name of ‘Santa Claws’, this arthropod was formerly named as Sanctacaris in 1988 which translates as ‘saintly shrimp’ (alternatively sometimes called ‘saintly crab’). Exact classification of Sanctacaris however has been hard to establish as opinions differ amongst researchers. Although usually attributed as a member of the Chelicerata, Sanctacaris has also … Read more
In Depth Perhaps the best word to describe Opabinia is bizarre. With five eyes, a forward facing proboscis a third of the length of the body and a mouth that is not only on the underside of the body but faces backwards, and you end up with a creature like no other we know of … Read more
In Depth Named after Otto Jeakel, Jaekelopterus is currently the largest known eurypterid, even bigger than the more famous Pterygotus. Again this demonstrates how the arthropods grew to giant proportions which continue to remain unknown in today’s living arthropods. Jaekelopterus itself it thought to have been a freshwater species that possibly hunted other arthropods and … Read more
In Depth Electrocteniza is a genus of trapdoor spider that lived in North East Europe during the Eocene. Like other trapdoor spiders, Electrocteniza would have either lined an existing crevice with silk or dug out a burrow in soft dirt, and then sealed this area with a hinged door. When insects came close to the … Read more