中国科学院南京地质古生物研究所机构知识库

Mesozoic whip-scorpions are very rare, with only two Cretaceous species known to date. Here we describe a new genus and species of Thelyphonidae, Mesothelyphonus parvus gen. & sp. nov., based on a very well-preserved male in Upper Cretaceous amber from Myanmar. Mesothelyphonus is firmly placed in the extant subfamily Thelyphoninae as supported by the abdominal tergites with a median longitudinal suture. Mesothelyphonus differs from other fossil and recent genera primarily by its very small body size, the absence of ommatoids on abdominal segment XII, and the elongate, slender and toothed patellar apophysis of the male pedipalp. The new discovery represents the oldest definitive fossil record for Thelyphoninae, highlighting the antiquity of the whip-scorpion group. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.