Prestwichia (xiphosurans)
| Prestwichia Temporal range: Carboniferous | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Fossils of Prestwichia anthrax from Coal Brook Dale, England, on display at Galerie de paléontologie et d'anatomie comparée in Paris | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Subphylum: | Chelicerata |
| Class: | Merostomata |
| Order: | Xiphosura |
| Family: | Belinuridae |
| Genus: | Prestwichia |
Prestwichia is an extinct genus of arthropods belonging to the order Xiphosura.[1]
These palaeozoic arthropods, related to the modern king crabs and horseshoe crabs, lived in the Carboniferous period. They resemble the larvae of the modern Limulus.[2]
Fossils of species within this genus have been found in the sediments of England.
References
- Walter Baldwin Prestwichia anthrax and Belinurus lunatus from Sparth Bottoms, Rochdale
- Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 2