JOURNAL ARTICLE

A pectinal tooth with peg sensilla from an Early Devonian scorpion.

  • Published In: Journal of Arachnology, 2023, v. 51, n. 3. P. 255 1 of 3

  • Database: Academic Search Ultimate 2 of 3

  • Authored By: Dunlop, Jason A.; Wellman, Charles H.; Prendini, Lorenzo; Shear, William A. 3 of 3

Abstract

A cuticle fragment found in an Early Devonian (Emsian) macerate from the Strathpeffer–Struie outlier in the Northern Highlands of Scotland represents the isolated pectinal tooth of a scorpion. This remarkable find includes a distinctive field of small projections in rounded sockets consistent with the peg sensilla of extant scorpions. This is the oldest evidence for the presence of these characteristic sensory organs, which in modern scorpions play an important role in chemo- and mechanoreception. The fossil indicates that some scorpions had developed anatomically modern pectinal teeth at least 395 million years ago, suggesting that the pectines of these early scorpions played a similar role, physiologically and behaviorally, to those of living species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Additional Information

  • Source:Journal of Arachnology. 2023/12, Vol. 51, Issue 3, p255
  • Document Type:Article
  • Subject Area:Health and Medicine
  • Publication Date:2023
  • ISSN:0161-8202
  • DOI:10.1636/JoA-S-22-024
  • Accession Number:174463469
  • Copyright Statement:Copyright of Journal of Arachnology is the property of American Arachnological Society and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

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