Erettopterus is a genus of large predatory eurypterid, an extinct group of aquatic arthropods. Fossils of Erettopterus have been discovered in deposits ranging from Early Silurian (the Rhuddanian age) to the Early Devonian (the Lochkovian age), and have been referred to several different species. Fossils have been recovered from two continents; Europe and North America. The genus name is composed by the Ancient Greek words ἐρέττω (eréttō), which means "rower", and πτερόν (pterón), which means "wing", and therefore, "rower wing".
Erettopterus is classified as part of the eurypterid family Pterygotidae, a family differentiated from other eurypterids by their flattened telsons (the most posterior segment of the body) and their modified chelicerae (frontal appendages), ending in well-developed chelae (claws). Although some pterygotid eurypterids, such as Jaekelopterus or Acutiramus grew to gigantic proportions, it is estimated that the largest species of Erettopterus, E. osiliensis, reached 90 cm (35 in). Erettopterus had a bilobed (divided into two lobes) telson, which is its main characteristic. The forms of chelicerae are very diverse between species, but they are generally very long with small curved teeth without serrations.
Studies on the chelicerae and compound eyes of Erettopterus have revealed that it was a predator with high visual acuity, but it was not as highly specialized or active as Jaekelopterus and Pterygotus, it was more like Slimonia acuminata, and probably used its enlarged chelicerae for grasping rather than a more specialized feeding.
Erettopterus is a genus of large predatory eurypterid, an extinct group of aquatic arthropods. Fossils of Erettopterus have been discovered in deposits...
Størmer the same year, and Erettopterus and Acutiramus would be recognized as separate, but closely related, genera (Erettopterus by Erik N. Kjellesvig-Waering...
(Pterygotus) and P. (Acutiramus), as well as two subgenera of Erettopterus; E. (Erettopterus) and E. (Truncatiramus). Kjellesvig-Waering placed the primary...
increasingly diverse, researchers began to name subgenera, such as Pterygotus (Erettopterus), named by John William Salter in 1859 for species of Pterygotus with...
eurypterids have also been estimated to have reached lengths of 2.5 metres; Erettopterus grandis (closely related to Jaekelopterus) and Hibbertopterus wittebergensis...
divergent and specialized ecological roles, more basal genera, such as Erettopterus, were more generalized predators. List of eurypterid genera Timeline...
containing two subgenera; Pterygotus (Curviramus) and Pterygotus (Erettopterus), but Erettopterus would later be raised to its own genus. American paleontologist...
new species of the new genus Himantopterus (a preoccupied name, now Erettopterus) by the English geologist and paleontologist John William Salter. The...
Arthropods Species Notes Images Slimonia acuminata A slimonid eurypterid. Erettopterus bilobus A pterygotid eurypterid. Pterygotus lanarkensis A pterygotid...
discovered, was home to a wide array of different eurypterids, like Erettopterus gigas, Eurypterus cephalaspis, Nanahughmilleria pygmaea, Marsupipterus...
area, also preserving E. acrocephalus, were home to other eurypterids Erettopterus, Pterygotus and Acutiramus, a less diverse assemblage of trilobites (Otarion...
Arthropods Species Notes Images Slimonia acuminata A slimonid eurypterid. Erettopterus bilobus A pterygotid eurypterid. ?Nanahughmilleria lanceolata An adelophthalmid...
2 in) in length, which is also the largest arthropod known to exist. Erettopterus grandis possibly reached this same length but this is based on an incomplete...
erroneously assigned H. banksii to Pterygotus (Erettopterus) based on bilobed telsons of Erettopterus spatulatus that he misidentified as belonging to...
another species of his new genus Himantopterus (a preoccupied name, now Erettopterus). The swimming legs of this species were long and narrow, reaching the...
other hand, in the West Virginian section, remains of W. cumberlandicus, Erettopterus exophthalmus, Parahughmilleria bellistriata and Stoermeropterus nodosus...
recently having studied the feeding mechanism of the pterygotid Erettopterus bilobus. Erettopterus possessed only three pairs of slender walking legs (typically...
several organisms have been found, most of them eurypterids such as Erettopterus gigas, Salteropterus abbreviatus and Nanahughmilleria pygmaea, but also...
This formation was the habitat of a fauna of eurypterids, among them Erettopterus laticauda, E. osiliensis, Eurypterus tetragonophthalmus, Mixopterus simonsi...
species: Eurypterus serratus, Dolichopterus gotlandicus, Erettopterus serricaudatus and Erettopterus carinatus. Alongside the other eurypterids, a large number...
this genus. The subgenus Erettopterus is regarded as a new genus and is separated into two new subgenera, E. (Erettopterus), including the new species...
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