Eophrynus prestvicii

Eophrynus prestvicii is an extinct species of arachnid belonging to the order Trigonotarbida.

Historical background

The first trigonotarbid was described in 1837 from the Coal Measures of Coalbrookdale in England by the famous English geologist Dean William Buckland. He believed it to be a fossil beetle and named it Curculoides prestvicii. A much better preserved example was later discovered from Coseley near Dudley; also in the English West Midlands conurbation. Described in 1871 by Henry Woodward, he correctly identified it as an arachnid and renamed it Eophrynus prestvicii – whereby the genus name comes from ἠώς, and Phrynus, a genus of living whip spider.

Description

Eophrynus prestvicii can reach a length of about. These arachnids were similar to modern spiders, but they could not produce silk. Recent x-ray imaging revealed that Eophrynus prestvicii were covered by protective spikes on the back-half of its body. This creature had long legs enabling it to run and hunt on the forest floor. Scientists at Imperial College London created a detailed 3D computer model of the arachnid from fossils.<

Distribution

This species is known from a handful of good quality fossils preserved inside siderite concretions. Fossils of this species have been found in the Carboniferous sediments of United Kingdom.