The oldest species of the genus Limulus from the late Jurassic of Poland

Abstract

This paper describes the discovery of new, exceptionally well preserved Late Jurassic (Late Tithonian) horseshoe crabs belonging to the genus Limulus, which are considered to be the oldest known representatives of the genus. The three-dimensionally preserved fossil horseshoe crabs, belonging to two species: Limulus darwini and Crenatolimulus sp. nov., recently were discovered in the Owadów-Brzezinki Quarry in Central Poland. The state of preservation of the fossil horseshoe crabs is described and the evolutionary lineage of both extinct and extant limulids is discussed. The palaeoenvironment inhabited by the new species and the trophic relationships of living horseshoe crabs are investigated in an attempt to determine the potential relationships between Mesozoic and recent xiphosurans.