# Archopterus

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> Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archopterus
> Source revision: 1345998602
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{{Short description|Fossil genus of arthropod}}
{{Speciesbox
| fossil_range = [Late Ordovician](/source/Late_Ordovician), {{fossil range|455}}
| image = Anji Biota.jpg
| image_caption = Reconstruction of ''A. anjiensis'' swimming through a glass sponge reef.
| parent_authority = Wang ''et al''., 2023
| display_parents = 3
| genus = Archopterus
| species = anjiensis
| authority = Wang ''et al''., 2023
}}

'''''Archopterus''''' is a genus of [eurypterid](/source/eurypterid) in the family [Pittsfordipteridae](/source/Pittsfordipteridae),'''<ref name=":22">{{Cite journal |last=Lamsdell|first=James C.|date=2025|title=Codex Eurypterida: A Revised Taxonomy Based on Concordant Parsimony and Bayesian Phylogenetic Analyses|journal=Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History|volume=2025|issue=473|pages=135|doi=10.1206/0003-0090.473.1.1}}</ref>''' represented by one species. It was discovered in the Wenchang Formation of Tianfucun, Anji County, [Zhejiang Province](/source/Zhejiang_Province), [South China](/source/South_China). This genus is represented by a single species ('''''Archopterus anjiensis''''') from the [Ordovician](/source/Ordovician), the oldest species from China and also of its family.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last1=Wang |first1=Han |last2=Braddy |first2=Simon J. |last3=Botting |first3=Joseph |last4=Zhang |first4=Yuandong |date=2023 |title=The first documentation of an Ordovician eurypterid (Chelicerata) from China |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-paleontology/article/abs/first-documentation-of-an-ordovician-eurypterid-chelicerata-from-china/2F0762857D48061467555E2C91387957 |journal=Journal of Paleontology |language=en |volume=97 |issue=3 |pages=606–611 |doi=10.1017/jpa.2023.21 |bibcode=2023JPal...97..606W |issn=0022-3360|url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref name="Ma-2023">{{Cite web |last=Ma |first=Zhenhuan |title=Ancient sea scorpion fossil discovered in Zhejiang |url=https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202306/01/WS6477ee7fa3107584c3ac34c2.html |access-date=2024-01-31 |year=2023 |website=[China Daily](/source/China_Daily)}}</ref>

== Description ==
''Archopterus'' was a predator that may have fed on small mollusks, crustaceans and worms.<ref name="Ma-2023" />

== Fossil importance ==
The only known fossil, found alongside various [Hexactinellid](/source/Hexactinellid) [sponge](/source/sponge)s, [graptolite](/source/graptolite)s, and [nautiloid](/source/nautiloid)s in deep-water shale, known as the [Anji Biota](/source/Anji_Biota), now extends the range of the family of Adelophthalmidae from the early [Silurian](/source/Silurian) to [late Ordovician](/source/Ordovician). This also now supports the theory of the evolution of [eurypterid](/source/eurypterid)s in [Gondwana](/source/Gondwana).<ref name=":0" /><ref name="Ma-2023" />

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

{{Eurypterida}}

{{Taxonbar|from1=Q122960461|from2=Q124460925}}

Category:Adelophthalmoidea
Category:Ordovician eurypterids
Category:Eurypterids of Asia
Category:Fossil taxa described in 2023
Category:Monotypic prehistoric chelicerate genera
{{Eurypterid-stub}}

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Archopterus](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archopterus) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archopterus?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.