Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

On the appendicular anatomy of the xiphosurid Tachypleus syriacus and the evolution of fossil horseshoe crab appendages

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
The Science of Nature Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Xiphosurida—crown group horseshoe crabs—are a group of morphologically conservative marine chelicerates (at least since the Jurassic). They represent an idealised example of evolutionary stasis. Unfortunately, body fossils of horseshoe crabs seldom preserve appendages and their associated features; thus, an important aspect of their morphology is absent in explorations of their conservative Bauplan. As such, fossil horseshoe crab appendages are rarely considered within a comparative framework: previous comparisons have focussed almost exclusively on extant taxa to the exclusion of extinct taxa. Here, we examine eight specimens of the xiphosurid Tachypleus syriacus (Woodward, 1879) from the Cenomanian (ca 100 Ma) Konservat-Lagerstätten of Lebanon, five of which preserve the cephalothoracic and thoracetronic appendages in exceptional detail. Comparing these appendages of T. syriacus with other fossil xiphosurids highlights the conserved nature of appendage construction across Xiphosurida, including examples of Austrolimulidae, Paleolimulidae, and Limulidae. Conversely, Belinuridae have more elongate cephalothoracic appendages relative to body length. Differences in appendage sizes are likely related to the freshwater and possible subaerial life modes of belinurids, contrasting with the primarily marine habits of other families. The morphological similarity of T. syriacus to extant members of the genus indicates that the conserved nature of the generic lineage can be extended to ecological adaptations, notably burrowing, swimming, possible diet, and sexual dimorphism.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7
Fig. 8
Fig. 9
Fig. 10
Fig. 11

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Akbar John B, Kamaruzzaman BY, Jalal KCA, Zaleha K (2012) Feeding ecology and food preferences of Carcinoscorpius rotundicauda collected from the Pahang nesting grounds. Sains Malaysiana 41(7):855–861

  • Anderson LI (1996) Taphonomy and taxonomy of Palaeozoic Xiphosura. University of Manchester, Ph.D. thesis

  • Audo D, Charbonnier S (2012a) Late Cretaceous crest-bearing shrimps from the Sahel Alma Lagerstätte of Lebanon. Acta Palaeontol Pol 58(2):335–349

  • Audo D, Charbonnier S (2012b) New nisto of slipper lobster (Decapoda: Scyllaridae) from the Hadjoula Lagerstätte (Late Cretaceous, Lebanon). J Crustac Biol 32(4):583–590

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Avise JC, Nelson WS, Sugita H (1994) A speciational history of "living fossils": molecular evolutionary patterns in horseshoe crabs. Evolution 48(6):1986–2001

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Babcock LE, Merriam DF (2000) Horseshoe crabs (Arthropoda: Xiphosurida) from the Pennsylvanian of Kansas and elsewhere. Trans Kans Acad Sci 103(1):76–94

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Babcock LE, Merriam DF, West RR (2000) Paleolimulus, an early limuline (Xiphosurida), from Pennsylvanian-Permian Lagerstätten of Kansas and taphonomic comparison with modern Limulus. Lethaia 33(3):129–141

  • Barthel KW, Swinburne NHM, Conway Morris S (1990) Solnhofen, a study in Mesozoic palaeontology. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge

  • Beecher CE (1904) Note on a new Permian xiphosuran from Kansas. Am J Sci 18(103):23–24

    Google Scholar 

  • Bernier P, Barale G, Bourseau JP, Buffetaut E, Gaillard C, Gall JC, Wenz S (2014) The lithographic limestones of Cerin (southern Jura Mountains, France). A synthetic approach and environmental interpretation. Comptes Rendus Palevol 13(5):383–402

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bicknell RDC, Klinkhamer AJ, Flavel RJ, Wroe S, Paterson JR (2018a) A 3D anatomical atlas of appendage musculature in the chelicerate arthropod Limulus polyphemus. PLoS One 13(2):e0191400

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Bicknell RDC, Ledogar JA, Wroe S, Gutzler BC, Watson WH III, Paterson JR (2018b) Computational biomechanical analyses demonstrate similar shell-crushing abilities in modern and ancient arthropods. Proc R Soc B Biol Sci 285(1889):20181935

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bicknell RDC, Paterson JR, Caron JB, Skovsted CB (2018c) The gnathobasic spine microstructure of recent and Silurian chelicerates and the Cambrian artiopodan Sidneyia: functional and evolutionary implications. Arthropod Struct Dev 47(1):12–24

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bicknell RDC, Pates S (2019) Abnormal extant xiphosurids in the Yale Peabody Museum Invertebrate Zoology Collection. B Peabody Mus Nat Hi 60(1):41–53

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bicknell RDC, Pates S, Botton ML (2018d) Abnormal xiphosurids, with possible application to Cambrian trilobites. Palaeontol Electron 21(2):1–17

  • Bicknell RDC, Žalohar J, Miklavc P, Celarc B, Križnar M, Hitij T (2019). A new limulid genus from the Strelovec Formation (Middle Triassic, Anisian) of northern Slovenia. Geological Magazine, in press: 1–14, doi: 10.1017/S0016756819000323

  • Błażejowski B (2015) The oldest species of the genus Limulus from the late Jurassic of Poland. In: Carmichael RH, Botton ML, Shin PKS, Cheung SG (eds) Changing Global Perspectives on Horseshoe Crab Biology, Conservation and Management. Springer, Basel, pp 3–14

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Błażejowski B, Gieszcz P, Tyborowski D (2016) New finds of well-preserved Tithonian (late Jurassic) fossils from the Owadów-Brzezinki Quarry, Central Poland: a review and perspectives. Volumina Jurassica 14:123–132

  • Botton ML (1984) Diet and food preferences of the adult horseshoe crab Limulus polyphemus in Delaware Bay, New Jersey, USA. Mar Biol 81(2):199–207

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bracchi G, Alessandrello A (2005) Paleodiversity of the free-living polychaetes (Annelida, Polychaeta) and description of new taxa from the Upper Cretaceous Lagerstätten of Haqel. Hadjula and Al-Namoura (Lebanon) 32(3):1–64

  • Briggs DEG (2003) The role of decay and mineralization in the preservation of soft-bodied fossils. Annu Rev Earth Planet Sci 31(1):275–301

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Briggs DEG, Moore RA, Shultz JW, Schweigert G (2005) Mineralization of soft-part anatomy and invading microbes in the horseshoe crab Mesolimulus from the Upper Jurassic Lagerstätte of Nusplingen, Germany. Proc R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 272(1563):627–632

  • Briggs DEG, Wilby PR (1996) The role of the calcium carbonate-calcium phosphate switch in the mineralization of soft-bodied fossils. J Geol Soc 153(5):665–668

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Charbonnier S, Audo D, Garassino A, Hyžný M (2017a) Fossil Crustacea of Lebanon. Publications Scientifiques du Muséum, Paris

  • Charbonnier S, Teruzzi G, Audo D, Lasseron M, Haug C, Haug JT (2017b) New thylacocephalans from the Cretaceous Lagerstätten of Lebanon. Bulletin de la Société géologique de France 188(3):19

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dalla Vecchia FM, Arduini P, Kellner AWA (2001) The first pterosaur from the Cenomanian (Late Cretaceous) Lagerstätten of Lebanon. Cretac Res 22(2):219–225

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Darwin C (1859) The origin of species by means of natural selection. John Murray, London

  • Darwin C (1871) The descent of man. John Murray, London

  • de Fabrègues PC, Claire P, Allain R (2013) A limulid trackway from the Late Jurassic (Tithonian) Lagerstätte of Canjuers (Var, France). Comptes Rendus Palevol 12(4):181–189

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Desmarest A-G (1817) Crustacés fossiles, in Société de Naturalistes et d’Agriculteurs (eds), Nouveau Dictionnaire d’Histoire naturelle, appliquée aux Arts, à l’Agriculture, à l’Économie rurale et domestique, à la Médecine, etc. . Deterville, Paris

  • Desmarest A-G (1822) Les crustacés proprement dits. In: Brongniart A, Desmarest A-G (eds) Histoire naturelle des crustacés fossiles, sous les rapports zoologiques et geologiques. F.-G. Levrault, Paris, pp 67–142

    Google Scholar 

  • Dunbar CO (1923) Kansas Permian insects, part 2, Paleolimulus, a new genus of Paleozoic Xiphosura, with notes on other genera. Am J Sci 5(30):443–454

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dunlop JA, Lamsdell JC (2017) Segmentation and tagmosis in Chelicerata. Arthropod Struct Dev 46(3):396–418

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fairuz-Fozi N, Satyanarayana B, Mat Zauki NA, Muslim AM, Husain ML, Ibrahim S, Nelson BR (2018) Carcinoscorpius rotundicauda (Latreille, 1802) population status and spawning behaviour at Pendas coast, Peninsular Malaysia. Glob Ecol Conserv 15:e00422

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Farley RD (2010) Book gill development in embryos and first and second instars of the horseshoe crab Limulus polyphemus L.(Chelicerata, Xiphosura). Arthropod Structure & Development 39(5):369–381

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fisher DC (1977) Functional significance of spines in the Pennsylvanian horseshoe crab Euproops danae. Paleobiology 3(2):175–195

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fisher DC (1979) Evidence for subaerial activity of Euproops danae (Merostomata, Xiphosurida). In: Nitecki MH (ed) Mazon Creek Fossils. Elsevier, New York, pp 379–447

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Fisher DC (1981) The role of functional analysis in phylogenetic inference: examples from the history of the Xiphosura. Am Zool 21(1):47–62

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fisher DC (1982) Phylogenetic and macroevolutionary patterns within the Xiphosurida. Proceedings of the Third North American Paleontological Convention 1:175–180

    Google Scholar 

  • Gaillard C (2011) A giant limulid trackway (Kouphichnium lithographicum) from the lithographic limestones of Cerin (Late Kimmeridgian, France): ethological and environmental implications. Swiss J Geosci 104(1):57–72

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Garassino A, De Angeli A, Pasini G (2009) A new hermit crab (Crustacea, Anomura, Paguroidea) from the Late Cretaceous (Cenomanian) of Lebanon. Atti della Società italiana di scienze naturali e del museo civico di storia naturale di. Milano 150(2):215–228

  • Gayet M, Belouze A, Saad PA (2003) Les poissons fossiles. Éditions DésIris, Méolans-Revel

  • Haug C, Rötzer MAIN (2018) The ontogeny of the 300 million year old xiphosuran Euproops danae (Euchelicerata) and implications for resolving the Euproops species complex. Dev Genes Evol 228(1):63–74

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Haug C, Van Roy P, Leipner A, Funch P, Rudkin DM, Schöllmann L, Haug JT (2012) A holomorph approach to xiphosuran evolution—a case study on the ontogeny of Euproops. Dev Genes Evol 222(5):253–268

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hauschke N, Wilde V (2004) Palaeogene limulids (Xiphosura) from Saxony-Anhalt (Germany): systematics and palaeobiogeography. Hallesches Jahrbüch für Geowissenschaften, Reihe B 18:161–168

    Google Scholar 

  • Holland FD, Erickson JM, O’Brien DE (1975) Casterolimulus: a new late Cretaceous generic link in limulid lineage. Bull Am Paleontology 62:235–249

  • Hu S-x, Zhang Q-y, Feldmann RM, Benton MJ, Schweitzer CE, Huang J, Wen W, Zhou C, Xie T, Lü T, Hong S (2011) The Luoping biota: exceptional preservation, and new evidence on the Triassic recovery from end-Permian mass extinction. Proc R Soc B Biol Sci 278(1716):2274–2282

    Article  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Hu S, Zhang Q, Feldmann RM, Benton MJ, Schweitzer CE, Huang J, Wen W, Zhou C, Xie T, Lü T, Hong S (2017) Exceptional appendage and soft-tissue preservation in a Middle Triassic horseshoe crab from SW China. Sci Rep 7(1):14112

  • Kaplan R, Li SSL, Kehoe JM (1977) Molecular characterization of limulin, a sialic acid binding lectin from the hemolymph of the horseshoe crab, Limulus polyphemus. Biochemistry 16(19):4297–4303

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kin A, Błażejowski B (2014) The horseshoe crab of the genus Limulus: living fossil or stabilomorph? PLoS One 9(10):e108036

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Knell RJ, Naish D, Tomkins JL, Hone DW (2013) Is sexual selection defined by dimorphism alone? A reply to Padian and Horner. Proc Zool Soc London 35:491–562

  • Lamsdell JC (2016) Horseshoe crab phylogeny and independent colonizations of fresh water: ecological invasion as a driver for morphological innovation. Palaeontology 59(2):181–194

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lamsdell JC, McKenzie SC (2015) Tachypleus syriacus (Woodward)—a sexually dimorphic Cretaceous crown limulid reveals underestimated horseshoe crab divergence times. Ord Divers Evol 15(4):681–693

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lange W (1923). Über neue Fossilfunde aus der Trias von Göttingen. Zeitschrift der deutschen geologischen Gesellschaft 74: 162–168

  • Lankester ER (1881) Limulus an Arachnid. Q J Microsc Sci 23:504–649

    Google Scholar 

  • Latreille PA (1802) Histoire naturelle, générale et particulière, des crustacés et des insectes. Dufart, Paris

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Leach WE (1819) Entomostraca. Dictionaire des Science Naturelles. Levrault and Schoell, Paris

    Google Scholar 

  • Linnaeus C (1758) Systema naturæ per regna tria naturæ, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis. Laurentius Salvius, Holmia.

  • Mallon JC (2017) Recognizing sexual dimorphism in the fossil record: lessons from nonavian dinosaurs. Paleobiology 43(3):495–507

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Meek FB, Worthen AH (1865). Notice of some new types of organic remains, from the Coal Measures of Illinois. Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia 17(1): 41–48.

  • Meischner K-D (1962) Neue Funde von Psammolimulus gottingensis (Merostomata, Xiphosura) aus dem Mittleren Buntsandstein von Göttingen. Paläontol Z 36(1):185–193

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Moreau J-D, Fara E, Gand G, Lafaurie G, Baret L (2014) Gigantism among Late Jurassic limulids: new ichnological evidence from the Causses Basin (Lozère, France) and comments on body-size evolution among horseshoe crabs. Geobios 47(4):237–253

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Müller OF (1785) Entomostraca seu Insecta Testacea, quae in aquis Daniae et Norvegiae reperit, descripsit et iconibus illustravit. Symtibus Bibliopolii J.G. Mülleriani, Müller, O. F. Lipsiae et Havniae, Leipzig and Copenhagen

  • Münster GG (1839) Die Rhyncholiten des Muschelkalks mit ihrem Fortsätzen. In: Münster GG (ed) Beiträge zur Petrefacten-Kunde. In Commission der Buchner'schen Buchhandlung, Bayreuth, pp 48–51

    Google Scholar 

  • Obst M, Faurby S, Bussarawit S, Funch P (2012) Molecular phylogeny of extant horseshoe crabs (Xiphosura, Limulidae) indicates Paleogene diversification of Asian species. Mol Phylogenet Evol 62(1):21–26

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Oukassou M, Lagnaoui A, Charrière A, Saber H, Haouz WB, Gierliński GD, Klein H, Ibouh H (2018) New evidence of xiphosurids from the Middle Jurassic of Morocco: Palaeoenvironmental, palaeoecological and palaeobiogeographical implications. Palaeogeogr Palaeoclimatol Palaeoecol 516:268–283

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Owen R (1872) On the anatomy of the American king-crab (Limulus polyphemus, Latr.). Trans Linn Soc London 28(3):459–506

  • Packard AS (1885) On the Carboniferous xiphosurous fauna of North America. Mem Natl Acad Sci 3:143–157

  • Padian K, Horner JR (2011) The definition of sexual selection and its implications for dinosaurian biology. J Zool 283(1):23–27

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Padian K, Horner JR (2014) The species recognition hypothesis explains exaggerated structures in non-avialan dinosaurs better than sexual selection does. Comptes Rendus Palevol 13(2):97–107

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Peyer K, Charbonnier S, Allain R, Läng É, Vacant R (2014) A new look at the Late Jurassic Canjuers conservation Lagerstätte (Tithonian, Var, France). Comptes Rendus Palevol 13(5):403–420

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Racheboeuf PR, Vannier J, Anderson LI (2002) A new three-dimensionally preserved xiphosuran chelicerate from the Montceau-Les-Mines Lagerstätte (Carboniferous, France). Palaeontology 45(1):125–147

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Raymond PE (1944) Late Paleozoic xiphosurans. Bull Mus Comp Zool 94:475–508

  • Razak MRM, Kassim Z (2018a) Feeding mechanisms of adult tropical horseshoe crab, Tachypleus gigas toward feeds’ conditions. ASM Science Journal 11(2):76–85

    Google Scholar 

  • Razak MRM, Kassim Z (2018b) Food intake, gut transit time and defecation pattern of Asian horseshoe crab, Tachypleus gigas. ASM Science Journal 11(2):56–66

    Google Scholar 

  • Riek EF (1955) A new xiphosuran from the Triassic sediments at Brookvale, New South Wales. Rec Aust Mus 23:281–282

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Riek EF, Gill ED (1971) A new xiphosuran genus from Lower Cretaceous freshwater sediments at Koonwarra, Victoria, Australia. Palaeontology 14(2):206–210

  • Rudkin DM, Young GA (2009) Horseshoe crabs–an ancient ancestry revealed. In: Tanacredi JT, Botton ML, Smith DR (eds) Biology and Conservation of Horseshoe Crabs. Springer, New York, pp 25–44

  • Schultka S (2000) Zur Palökologie der Euproopiden im Nordwestdeutschen Oberkarbon. Mitteilungen aus dem Museum für Naturkunde in Berlin Geowissenschaftliche-Reihe 3 3(1):87–98

    Google Scholar 

  • Shu W, Tong J, Tian L, Benton MJ, Chu D, Yu J, Guo W (2018) Limuloid trackways from Permian-Triassic continental successions of North China. Palaeogeogr Palaeoclimatol Palaeoecol 508:71–90

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shultz JW (2001) Gross muscular anatomy of Limulus polyphemus (Xiphosura, Chelicerata) and its bearing on evolution in the Arachnida. J Arachnol 29(3):283–303

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shuster CN Jr, Sekiguchi K (2009) Basic habitat requirements of the extant species of horseshoe crabs (Limulacea). In: Tanacredi JT, Botton ML, Smith DR (eds) Biology and Conservation of Horseshoe Crabs. Springer, New York, pp 115–129

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Shuster CN Jr (1982) A pictorial review of the natural history and ecology of the horseshoe crab Limulus polyphemus, with reference to other Limulidae. Prog Clin Biol Res 81:1–52

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Sokoloff A (1978) Observations on populations of the horseshoe crab Limulus (= Xiphosura) polyphemus. Res Popul Ecol 19(2):222–236

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tong H, Hirayama R, Makhoul E, Escuillié F (2006) Rhinochelys (Chelonioidea: Protostegidae) from the Late Cretaceous (Cenomanian) of Nammoura, Lebanon. Atti della Società italiana di Scienze naturali e del Museo civico di Storia naturale di Milano 147(1):113–138

  • Vía Boada L, De Villalta JF (1966) Hetrolimulus gadeai, nov. gen., nov. sp., représentant d’une nouvelle famille de Limulacés dans le Trias d’Espagne. Comtes Rendues Sommaire Séances Societé Géologique France 8:57–59

    Google Scholar 

  • Vosatka ED (1970) Observations on the swimming, righting, and burrowing movements of young horseshoe crabs, Limulus polyphemus. Ohio J Sci 70(5):276–283

    Google Scholar 

  • Waterston CD (1985) Chelicerata from the Dinantian of Foulden, Berwickshire, Scotland. Earth Env Sci T R So 76(1):25–33

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wilson P, Parry LA, Vinther J, Edgecombe GD (2016) Unveiling biases in soft-tissue phosphatization: extensive preservation of musculature in the Cretaceous (Cenomanian) polychaete Rollinschaeta myoplena (Annelida: Amphinomidae). Palaeontology 59(3):463–479

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wincierz J (1960) Ein neuer Limulide aus dem Lias. Paläontol Z 34(3–4):207–220

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wippich MGE, Lehmann J (2004) Allocrioceras from the Cenomanian (mid-Cretaceous) of the Lebanon and its bearing on the palaeobiological interpretation of heteromorphic ammonites. Palaeontology 47(5):1093–1107

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Woodward H (1879) Contributions to the knowledge of fossil Crustacea. Q J Geol Soc 35(1):549–556

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang QY, Hu SX, Zhou CY, Lü T, Bai JK (2009) First occurrence of horseshoe crab (Arthropoda) fossils from China. Prog Nat Sci 19:1090–1093

  • Zittel KAv (1881) Handbuch der Palaeontologie. I. Abtheilung, Palaeozoologie. R. Oldenbourg, München

Download references

Acknowledgements

We thank Angelika Leipner, Dominique Chabard, Frank Holmes, G. Hundertmark, Giorgio Teruzzi, Julien Kimmig, Lilian Cazes, Shixue Hu. and Stephen Pates for images. Finally, we thank the three anonymous reviewers for their suggestions that improved the manuscript.

Funding

This research was supported by funding from an Australian Postgraduate Award (to R.D.C.B. and S.A.B.), a Charles Schuchert and Carl O. Dunbar Grants-in-Aid award (to R.D.C.B.), a James R. Welch Scholarship (to R.D.C.B.), and a Betty Mayne Scientific Research Fund (to R.D.C.B.).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Palaeoscience Research Centre, School of Environmental and Rural Science, University of New England, Armidale, 2351, Australia

    Russell D. C. Bicknell, Sienna A. Birch & Nicolás E. Campione

  2. Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle, Paris, Département Origines et Evolution; Centre de Recherche en Paléontologie - Paris (CR2P, UMR 7207), Sorbonne Université,CNRS, 57 rue Cuvier, 75005, Paris, France

    Sylvain Charbonnier

  3. Clos Saint Antoine (n°3), 78550, Richebourg, France

    Frédéric Sautereau

  4. Dental School, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ljubljana, Hrvatski trg 6, 1000, Ljubljana, Slovenia

    Tomaž Hitij

Authors
  1. Russell D. C. Bicknell
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Sienna A. Birch
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Sylvain Charbonnier
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Frédéric Sautereau
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Tomaž Hitij
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Nicolás E. Campione
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Russell D. C. Bicknell.

Additional information

Communicated by: Matthias Waltert

Publisher’s note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Bicknell, R.D.C., Birch, S.A., Charbonnier, S. et al. On the appendicular anatomy of the xiphosurid Tachypleus syriacus and the evolution of fossil horseshoe crab appendages. Sci Nat 106, 38 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00114-019-1629-6

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00114-019-1629-6

Keywords

Search

Navigation