Description

COMMENTS Specimen MNHN. F. B 13432 (Fig. 11 A) is poorly preserved and exhibit many calcite bundles (as dumbells and spheres), mostly at the rear of the prosoma. According to Briggs & Wilby (1996), among the arthropods of Solnhofen, Mesolimulus is the taxon the most commonly subject to calcite crystals bundles development (we illustrate a specimen of Eryon cuvieri with calcite bundles on Fig. 9 B). Such crystals are believed to be formed during the early stage of diagenesis, due to microbial activity. Specimen MNHN. F. B 13433 (Fig. 11 B) is a dorsal view of a slightly deformed specimen; the prosoma, carapace and telson are beautifully preserved. Acknowledgements We thank Lilian Cazes (CR 2 P, MNHN) for assistance in photographic work. This paper is a contribution from the UMR CNRS 7207 Centre de Recherche en Paléontologie – Paris, and part of the ‘ PyrEx’ project, funded by the DIM Matériaux Anciens et Patrimoniaux. We also would like to thank Denis Audo and Alessandro Garassino for their useful comments on a previous version of the manuscript.

Common Names

Taxonomic Hierarchy

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Arthropoda

Class: Merostomata

Order: Xiphosurida

Family: Limulidae

Genus: Mesolimulus

Species: Mesolimulus walchii (Desmarest, 1817)