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Genus of horseshoe crab relatives From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Lunataspis is the oldest known xiphosuran, with two known species both dating from the late Ordovician (latest Sandbien for L. borealis to earliest Hirnantian for L. aurora).
| Lunataspis Temporal range:
Latest Sandbian to Earliest Hirnantian | |
|---|---|
| |
| Reconstruction of Lunataspis aurora (bottom left) and Lunataspis borealis (top right) | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Subphylum: | Chelicerata |
| Order: | Xiphosura |
| Suborder: | Xiphosurida |
| Genus: | †Lunataspis Rudkin, Young & Nowlan, 2008 |
| Type species | |
| †Lunataspis aurora Rudkin, Young & Nowlan, 2008 | |
| Species | |
| |
The type species, L. aurora, was described from remains found in the Konservat-Lagerstätten deposits of the Stony Mountain Formation, central Manitoba by David Rudkin, Graham Young and Godfrey Nolan, from fossils found in northern Manitoba, Canada in 2005. [1][2] The specific name aurora is Latin for 'dawn' and is also eponymous with the mythological Roman goddess.[1] The deposit dates from the Late Ordovician, earliest Hirnantian c. 445 million years ago.
A second species, L. borealis, was described in 2022 based on three specimens, including an adult (ROM IP 64616) and two juveniles or subadults (ROM IP 64617 and ROM IP 64618). All specimens were found in the upper member of the Gull River Formation in Kingston, Ontario, dating from the latest Sandbian, late Ordovician, c. 454 million years ago.[3] This site was a warm-water platform shelf at the time near the paleo-equator.
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