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Fossils of large terrestrial arthropods from the Lower Devonian of Canada

Nature volume 384, pages 555–557 (1996)Cite this article

Abstract

TERRESTRIAL arthropods have a fossil record that reaches back to at least the Upper Silurian (420 million years ago). Most available data on these early land animals comes from a few sites at which abundant microarthropod remains are preserved as organic cuticle fragments. Such cuticle assemblages imply that early terrestrial ecosystems were dominated by small arthropods of the soil and litter. We describe here new impression and impression/compression fossils from the Emsian stage of New Brunswick and Québéc, Canada, which include millipeds, arthropleurids, and a scorpion with book-lungs preserved. They suggest that surface macroarthropods were also a significant component of the land fauna.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biology, Hampden-Sydney College, Hampden-Sydney, Virginia, 23943, USA

    William A. Shear

  2. Department of Biology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, 27599, USA

    Patricia G. Gensel

  3. Ulster Museum, Botanic Gardens, Belfast, BT9 5AB, UK

    Andrew J. Jeram

Authors
  1. William A. Shear
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  2. Patricia G. Gensel
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  3. Andrew J. Jeram
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Shear, W., Gensel, P. & Jeram, A. Fossils of large terrestrial arthropods from the Lower Devonian of Canada. Nature 384, 555–557 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1038/384555a0

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