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A chasmataspidid affinity for the putative xiphosuran Kiaeria Størmer, 1934

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Abstract

The putative xiphosuran Kiaeria Størmer, 1934, from the Late Silurian (Ludlow) of Ringerike, Norway, is redescribed from the holotype and only known specimen as a chasmataspidid chelicerate arthropod. Morphological features such as the presence of a fused buckler of three opisthosomal segments clearly indicate a chasmataspidid affinity, while the size of Kiaeria, along with the occurrence of a raised axial region and expanded anterior articulation, suggest a close phylogenetic relationship to the Ordovician Chasmataspis. As such, Kiaeria represents the first indication that the Chasmataspis-type chasmataspidid morphology persisted alongside the radiation of diploaspidids. This is also only the third chasmataspidid species recorded from the Silurian.

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Acknowledgements

I thank Hans Nakrem (PMO) for providing images of Kiaeria, and Kathy Hollis (NMNH) for facilitating loans of the Chasmataspis material. I am especially grateful to Jason Dunlop (Berlin) and Mike Reich (Munich) for detailed and invaluable reviews that helped resolve the taxonomic situation of Kiaeria.

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  1. Department of Geology and Geography, West Virginia University, 98 Beechurst Avenue, 330 Brooks Hall, Morgantown, WV, 26506, USA

    James C. Lamsdell

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Correspondence to James C. Lamsdell.

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Handling Editor: Mike Reich.

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Lamsdell, J.C. A chasmataspidid affinity for the putative xiphosuran Kiaeria Størmer, 1934. PalZ 94, 449–453 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12542-019-00493-8

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