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Tachypleus syriacus (Woodward)—a sexually dimorphic Cretaceous crown limulid reveals underestimated horseshoe crab divergence times

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Abstract

The fossil record represents an important test to molecular divergence estimates, with known occurrences representing minimum divergence times for sister taxa. As such, accurately placing fossils in phylogenies is integral to understanding the patterns and processes that shape the tree of life. The chelicerate order Xiphosura comprises classic archetypes of morphological stasis, with the earliest known Ordovician representatives exhibiting all key morphological characteristics of the group. Molecular studies on the four extant species consistently retrieve a basal split between Limulinae and Tachypleinae, but conflict regarding the relationships of the three Asian species. Molecular divergence estimates using either no or a single fossil calibration point infer a Cretaceous or Palaeogene origin for Limulidae and a Palaeogene or Neogene origin for Tachypleinae and Tachypleus. Here, we present male and female specimens of Tachypleus syriacus (=‘Mesolimulus’ syriacus) from the Cretaceous of Lebanon, revealing an anterior scalloped carapace margin in males—a derived condition of sexual dimorphism shared with Tachypleus tridentatus. Morphological phylogenetic analysis of total group Limulidae retrieves a monophyletic Tachypleus with a minimum divergence time during the Cretaceous, while crown-group Tachypleinae and Limulidae are both present during the Triassic, showing that molecular clock analyses have significantly underestimated the divergence times for these taxa.

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Acknowledgments

We are grateful to Lourdes Rojas and Eric Lazo-Wasem (both Yale Peabody Museum) for facilitating access to the extant limulid specimens, Alessandro Garassino (Museo Civico di Storia Naturale di Milano) for photographs of the Italian specimens, and Claire Mellish (Natural History Museum, London) for photographs of the holotype specimen. Antony Lamsdell prepared the idealized reconstruction. Derek Briggs (Yale University) provided useful discussion regarding the soft-tissue preservation. Three anonymous referees provided comments that improved the manuscript.

Author contributions

J.C.L. conducted the phylogenetic analysis and photographed and described the specimens. S.C.M. provided the new specimens and locality information. Both authors contributed intellectually to the study and to the completion of the manuscript.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical approval

All applicable international, national, and/or institutional guidelines for the care and use of animals were followed. This article does not contain any studies with human participants performed by any of the authors.

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  1. Department of Geology and Geophysics, Yale University, P.O. Box 208109, New Haven, CT, 06520-8109, USA

    James C. Lamsdell

  2. Geology Department, Mercyhurst University, Room 206B, Zurn Hall of Science, 501 East 38th St., Erie, PA, 16546-0001, USA

    Scott C. McKenzie

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Lamsdell, J.C., McKenzie, S.C. Tachypleus syriacus (Woodward)—a sexually dimorphic Cretaceous crown limulid reveals underestimated horseshoe crab divergence times. Org Divers Evol 15, 681–693 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13127-015-0229-3

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