In biological taxonomy , the type genus is the genus which defines a biological family and the root of the family name.
63-421: Pterygotioidea (the name deriving from the type genus Pterygotus , meaning "winged one") is a superfamily of eurypterids , an extinct group of aquatic arthropods . Pterygotioids were the most derived members of the infraorder Diploperculata and the sister group of the adelophthalmoid eurypterids. The group includes the basal and small hughmilleriids , the larger and specialized slimonids and
126-609: A cuticle composed of proteins and chitin . In the Pterygotidae , the outer surface of the exoskeleton was covered in a scale-like ornamentation but it was smooth within Slimonidae and Hughmilleriidae . The chelicerate body is divided into two tagmata (sections); the frontal prosoma (head) and posterior opisthosoma (abdomen). The appendages were attached to the prosoma, and were characterized in pterygotids and slimonids by being small and slender and lacking spines. In contrast,
189-478: A Swiss-American biologist and geologist , described the fossils in 1839 and named the genus Pterygotus , meaning "winged one". Agassiz mistakenly believed that the fossils were the remains of a large fish. Agassiz first recognized the true nature of the fossils as arthropod remains five years later in 1844 after having examined more complete fossils recovered in the Old Red Sandstone of Scotland . In 1856,
252-528: A crimped swallowtail pennant , red above and white below. The New South Wales Mounted Police , based at Redfern Barracks, Sydney , Australia, carry a lance with a navy blue and white pennant on ceremonial occasions. "Lance" is also the name given by some anthropologists to the light flexible javelins (technically darts ) thrown by atlatls (spear-throwing sticks), but these are usually called "atlatl javelins". Some were not much larger than arrows, and were typically feather- fletched like an arrow and unlike
315-523: A double line, and the German method, with lancers drawn up in a deeper formation which was often wedge-shaped. It is commonly believed that this became the dominant European cavalry tactic in the 11th century after the development of the cantled saddle and stirrups (the Great Stirrup Controversy ), and of rowel spurs (which enabled better control of the mount). Cavalry thus outfitted and deployed had
378-652: A lance-like shaft as a flagstaff . When the Canadian North-West Mounted Police was established, it was modeled after certain British cavalry units that used lances. It made limited use of this weapon in small detachments during the 1870s, intended to impress indigenous peoples. The modern Royal Canadian Mounted Police , the North-West Mounted Police's descendant, employs ceremonial, though functional, lances made of male bamboo . They feature
441-404: A nominal family-group taxon is a nominal genus called the 'type genus'; the family-group name is based upon that of the type genus." Any family-group name must have a type genus (and any genus-group name must have a type species , but any species-group name may, but need not, have one or more type specimens). The type genus for a family-group name is also the genus that provided the stem to which
504-777: A number of phylogenetic analyses and does thus not form an actually valid scientific grouping. Nevertheless, the family is retained and routinely used by eurypterid researchers. Hughmilleria wangi Hughmilleria socialis Hughmilleria shawangunk Herefordopterus banksii Slimonia acuminata Ciurcopterus ventricosus Pterygotus anglicus Jaekelopterus rhenaniae Acutiramus macrophthalmus Acutiramus bohemicus Erettopterus bilobus Erettopterus serricaudatus Erettopterus osiliensis Erettopterus waylandsmithi Eurypterids are most commonly recovered from fossil deposits in Scandinavia , Eastern Europe , Britain and North America . During
567-486: A regular basis or if species recovered outside of Laurentia, Baltica and Avalonia represent isolated occurrences. Pterygotioids were, like the related adelophthalmoids, excellent swimmers which might help explain the intercontinental dispersal patterns and wide-ranging distribution seen in both superfamilies. Type genus According to the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature , "The name-bearing type of
630-536: A replacement, with the Spanish retaining the lance the longest. Only the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth with its far greater emphasis on cavalry warfare, large population of Szlachta nobility and general lower military technology level among its foes retained the lance to a considerable degree, with the famously winged Polish hussars having their glory period during the 17th and 18th centuries against
693-422: A taxon above genus, up to and including order, is the legitimate name of the included genus on whose name the name of the relevant taxon is based. One taxon of each category must include the type genus. The names of the taxa which include the type genus must be formed by the addition of the appropriate suffix to the stem of the name of the type genus[…]." In 2019, it was proposed that all ranks above genus should use
SECTION 10
#1733093121572756-413: A term for spear-like weapons specially designed and modified to be part of a "weapon system" for use couched under the arm during a charge , being equipped with special features such as grappers to engage with lance rests attached to breastplates , and vamplates , small circular plates designed to prevent the hand sliding up the shaft upon impact. These specific features were in use by the beginning of
819-490: A tremendous collective force in their charge, and could shatter most contemporary infantry lines. Because of the extreme stopping power of a thrusting spear, it quickly became a popular weapon of infantry in the Late Middle Ages . These eventually led to the rise of the longest type of spears, the pike . This adaptation of the cavalry lance to infantry use was largely tasked with stopping lance-armed cavalry charges. During
882-521: A wide variety of enemy forces. After the Western introduction of the horse to Native Americans , the Plains Indians used the bow and lance, probably independently, as American cavalry of the time were armed with the pistol and sabre , firing forward at full gallop. The mounted lancer experienced a renaissance in the 19th century. This followed on the demise of the pike and of body armor during
945-495: Is simplified from 2007 study by O. Erik Tetlie, showcasing the position of the pterygotioids within the suborder Eurypterina. Placement of Diploperculata follows Lamsdell et al. 2013. Stylonurina Megalograptoidea Eurypteroidea Carcinosomatoidea Waeringopteroidea Adelophthalmoidea Hughmilleria Herefordopterus Slimonia Pterygotidae Though the Pterygotidae are accepted to clearly represent
1008-485: Is the most derived superfamily of the suborder and contains over 50 species (the exact number obscured by dubious species and possible synonyms), which accounts for more than a fifth of the approximately 250 known eurypterid species. The closest sister group of the Pterygotioidea, Adelophthalmoidea, also contains a large amount of species, over 40, and is the second most diverse eurypterid superfamily. The cladogram below
1071-695: The OED , the word may be of Iberian origin. Also compare λόγχη ( lónkhē ), a Greek term for "spear" or "lance". A lance in the original sense is a light throwing spear or javelin. The English verb to launch "fling, hurl, throw" is derived from the term (via Old French lancier ), as well as the rarer or poetic to lance . The term from the 17th century came to refer specifically to spears not thrown, used for thrusting by heavy cavalry , and especially in jousting . The longer types of thrusting spear used by infantry are usually referred to simply as spears or later as pikes , though many other terms existed. During
1134-642: The Polish cavalry , which retained the lance for combat use until either 1934 or 1937, but contrary to popular legend did not make use of it in World War II . The German cavalry retained the lance ( Stahlrohrlanze ) as a service weapon until 1927, as did the British cavalry until 1928. The Argentine cavalry were documented as carrying lances until the 1940s, but this appears to have been used as part of recruit riding school training, rather than serious preparation for use in active service. The United States Cavalry used
1197-422: The 14th, 15th, and 16th centuries, these weapons, both mounted and unmounted, were so effective that lancers and pikemen not only became a staple of every Western army, but also became highly sought-after mercenaries. (However, the pike had already been used by Philip II of Macedon in antiquity to great effect, in the form of the sarissa .) In Europe, a jousting lance was a variation of the knight's lance which
1260-522: The 2.7-meter (8.9 ft) bamboo or ash lance with a steel head was reauthorized for general use on active service. The Russian cavalry (except for the Cossacks ) discarded the lance in the late 19th century, but in 1907, it was reissued for use by the front line of each squadron when charging in open formation. In its final form, the Russian lance was a long metal tube with a steel head and leather arm strap. It
1323-557: The Eurypteracea and Pterygotidae to subordinal and superfamily status, Eurypteracea becoming the suborder Eurypterina and creating the superfamily Pterygotioidea, containing Hughmilleriidae and Pterygotidae. The same year, Novojilov also reclassified Slimonia into a pterygotioid family of its own as it was considered distinct enough from other hughmilleriids to warrant a separate family, the Slimonidae. Pterygotioids are classified within
SECTION 20
#17330931215721386-480: The Pterygotidae in 1951, referring the genera Hastimima , Hughmilleria and Slimonia , and the newly named Grossopterus , to their own family within the Eurypteracea, Hughmilleriidae, leaving Pterygotus as the sole pterygotid genus. In 1955, Norwegian paleontologist and geologist Leif Størmer considered the pterygotid clade to represent a family within the eurypterid superfamily "Eurypteracea". In 1962, Russian paleontologist Nestor Ivanovich Novojilov raised
1449-577: The Pterygotioidea had the most cosmopolitan distribution of all eurypterid groups. Their fossils have been recovered from Europe, Africa, North America, South America, Asia and Australia, with the earliest remains being from the Early Silurian of Scotland and South China . The exact geographical origin of the group remains unknown, but is thought to have been in Laurentia . Though several characteristic and diagnostic traits can be established for each of
1512-456: The Pterygotioidea is the most diverse, containing over 50 species in 10 genera. With the number of recognized eurypterid species being around 250, pterygotioids account for more than a fifth of all known eurypterid species. Though the group only existed for around 70 million years and during a time when most continents were separated by large expanses of water (in contrast with previous and later periods of time when there had been supercontinents ),
1575-523: The Silurian and Devonian periods, when pterygotioids were alive, these regions and continents were part of the continents Baltica (Scandinavia and Eastern Europe), Avalonia (Germany, Britain, parts of eastern North America) and Laurentia (most of eastern continental North America). It is around these continents, and the Rheno-Hercynian Terrane (western and central Europe), that pterygotioids are
1638-561: The Silurian and Devonian world, with unusually (in terms of eurypterids, most groups being absent entirely) large numbers recovered from the ancient continent of Gondwana (composed of Africa , India , South America , Australia and Antarctica ). The earliest known pterygotioids, belonging to the genus Hughmilleria , are from the Llandovery epoch of the Silurian and appear around the same time in Laurentia, Scotland and South China . With
1701-487: The advent of trench warfare, lances and the cavalry that carried them ceased to play a significant role. A Russian cavalry officer whose regiment carried lances throughout the war recorded only one instance where an opponent was killed by this weapon. The Greco-Turkish War (1919–1922), saw an unexpected revival of lances amongst the cavalry of the Turkish National Army. During the successful Turkish offensives of
1764-467: The appendages) and of more derived pterygotid eurypterids, revealing that Slimonidae was the closest sister-group of the Pterygotidae. The lack of ornamentation in the telson of Hughmilleria , combined with the fact that the genus shares certain characteristics with basal adelophthalmids (in particular the triangular anterior margin of the carapace), places it as the most basal genus in the superfamily. Hughmilleria also possessed far more gnathobasic (of
1827-486: The arm (held horizontally). The length of the standard kontarion is estimated at 2.5 meters (8.2 ft), which is shorter than that of the medieval knight of Western Europe . Formations of knights were known to use underarm-couched military lances in full-gallop closed-ranks charges against lines of opposing infantry or cavalry. Two variants on the couched lance charge developed, the French method, en haie , with lancers in
1890-474: The beginning of the war. The combined effect was devastating, so much of the British cavalry was deployed as mounted infantry, dismounting to fight on foot. For some years after the Boer War, the six British lancer regiments officially carried the lance only for parades and other ceremonial duties. At the regimental level, training in the use of the lance continued, ostensibly to improve recruit riding skills. In 1909,
1953-665: The early 18th century, with the reintroduction of lances coming from Hungary and Poland , having retained large formations of lance-armed cavalry when they had become more or less obsolescent elsewhere in Europe. Lancers became especially prevalent during and after the Napoleonic Wars : a period when almost all the major European powers reintroduced the lance into their respective cavalry arsenals. Formations of uhlans and other types of cavalry used lances between 2 and 3 meters (6.6 and 9.8 ft) in length as their primary weapons. The lance
Pterygotioidea - Misplaced Pages Continue
2016-597: The eleven Uhlan regiments continued in existence until 1918, armed with the standard cavalry sabre. During the Second Boer War , British troops successfully used the lance on one occasion - against retreating Boers at the Battle of Elandslaagte (21 October 1899). However, the Boers made effective use of trench warfare , rapid-fire field artillery , continuous-fire machine guns , and accurate long-range repeating rifles from
2079-479: The families included within the Pterygotioidea, the group as a whole is primarily joined by the shared features of marginal eyes, that their compound eyes are placed near or on the margin of the carapace (the "head" plate). Pterygotioid eurypterids, whose fossils are recovered in deposits ranging in age from the Early Silurian to the Late Devonian , can be distinguished from all other eurypterine eurypterids by
2142-489: The famous pterygotids which were equipped with robust and powerful cheliceral claws. Though the more primitive hughmilleriids were small, Hughmilleria wangi being the smallest of all pterygotioids at just 6 centimetres (2.4 in) in length, later members of the group, particularly in the Pterygotidae, would become the largest known arthropods to ever exist with several genera surpassing 2 metres (6.6 ft) in length. Among all currently recognized eurypterid clades,
2205-460: The final stages of the war across the open plains of Asia Minor , Turkish mounted troops were armed with bamboo shafted-lances taken from military storage and inflicted heavy losses on the retreating Greek Army. The cavalry branches of most armies which still retained lances as a service weapon at the end of World War I generally discarded them for all but ceremonial occasions during the 1920s and 1930s. There were exceptions during this era, such as
2268-462: The genus category as the nomenclatural type. This proposal was subsequently adopted for the rank of phylum. Lance The English term lance is derived, via Middle English launce and Old French lance , from the Latin lancea , a generic term meaning a spear or javelin employed by both infantry and cavalry, with English initially keeping these generic meanings. It developed later into
2331-501: The gnathobase, an appendage used in feeding) teeth than any other pterygotioid, possessing 18-20 whilst more derived pterygotioids (including related hughmilleriid Herefordopterus ) possessed only 12–13. The cladogram presented below, derived from a 2007 study by researcher O. Erik Tetlie, showcases the interrelationships between the pterygotioid eurypterids. Whilst Slimonidae and Pterygotidae form monophyletic (and thus valid) groups, Hughmilleriidae has been recovered as paraphyletic in
2394-519: The group already being widespread at this seemingly early stage in their evolution, it is difficult to pinpoint their exact geographical point of origin. The closest relatives and sister clade of the pterygotioids, the superfamily Adelophthalmoidea , originated in Laurentia. Modern researchers assume that the case would be the same with the pterygotioids, which are thought to have originated within, or in close proximity to, Laurentia. It remains unclear whether pterygotioids were capable of crossing oceans on
2457-583: The increasing common usage of ash , bamboo , beech , or pine wood for lance shafts of varying lengths, each with steel points and butts, adopted by the uhlan regiments of the Saxon, Württemberg, Bavarian, and Prussian armies. In the American Civil War , the 6th Pennsylvania Cavalry Regiment was equipped with lances modeled after Napoleon Bonaparte 's forces in France. American troops had never previously used
2520-480: The infraorder Diploperculata , in the Eurypterina suborder of eurypterids. The infraorder Diploperculata contains the four most derived superfamilies of eurypterine eurypterids; Carcinosomatoidea , Adelophthalmoidea , Pterygotioidea and the waeringopteroids , united by the shared feature that the genital operculum (the structure that contains the genital appendage) is made up of two fused segments. Pterygotioidea
2583-484: The knight himself, one to three men-at-arms , and possibly an archer . Lances were often combined under the banner of a higher-ranking nobleman to form companies of knights that would act as an ad hoc unit. The advent of wheellock technology spelled the end of the lance in Western Europe, with newer types of heavy cavalry such as reiters and cuirassiers spurning the old one-use weapon and increasingly supplanting
Pterygotioidea - Misplaced Pages Continue
2646-661: The lack of large cheliceral claws, otherwise a defining characteristic of Pterygotus . In 1903, the genus Hughmilleria was created based on fossils discovered in the Pittsford Shale Member of the Vernon Formation . Its describer, the American geologist Clifton J. Sarle, considered the genus to represent an intermediate form between the more basal Eurypterus and the derived Pterygotus but did not assign Hughmilleria to any particular family . The family Pterygotidae
2709-500: The lance argued that the weapon was clumsy, conspicuous, easily deflected, and inefficient in a melee. Arguments favoring the retention of the lance focused on the impact on morale of having charging cavalry preceded by " a hedge of steel " and on the effectiveness of the weapon against fleeing opponents. Lances were still in use by the British , Turkish , Italian , Spanish , French , Belgian , Indian , German , and Russian armies at
2772-417: The lance in combat. The lances proved ineffective in battle and were replaced with carbine rifles in 1863. The Franco-Prussian War of 1870 saw the extensive deployment of cavalry armed with lances on both sides. While the opportunities for decisive use of this weapon proved infrequent during the actual conflict, the entire cavalry corps (93 regiments of hussars , dragoons , cuirassiers , and uhlans ) of
2835-461: The lance was often a one-use-per-engagement weapon, becoming embedded in their targets or being broken on impact. Assuming the lance survived the initial impact without breaking, it could also prove inappropriate for more static, closer engagements where its length became a hindrance. The name is derived from the word lancea , the Roman auxiliaries' javelin or throwing spear; although according to
2898-434: The lance, often tapering for a considerable portion of the weapon's length. These are the versions that can most often be seen at medieval reenactment festivals. In war, lances were much more like stout spears, long and balanced for one-handed use, and with sharpened tips. As a small unit that surrounded a knight when he went into battle during the 14th and 15th centuries, a lance might have consisted of one or two squires ,
2961-555: The late 14th century . Though best known as a military and sporting weapon carried by European knights and men-at-arms , the use of lances was widespread throughout East Asia , the Middle East , and North Africa wherever suitable mounts were available. Lances were the main weapon of Lancers of the medieval period and beyond, and so these troops also carried secondary weapons such as swords , battle axes , war hammers , maces , and daggers for use in hand-to-hand combat , since
3024-486: The late 3rd century the weapons of the cavalry attached to each Roman legion evolved from javelins and swords to sometimes include long reaching lances ( contus ). These required the use of both hands to thrust. The Byzantine cavalry used lances ( kontos or kontarion ) almost exclusively, often in mixed formations of mounted archers and lancers ( cursores et defensores ). The Byzantines used lances in both overarm and underarm grips, as well as being couched under
3087-598: The more basal Hughmilleriids did possess spines on their appendages. In derived members of the group, Slimonidae and Pterygotidae, the telson (the posteriormost segment of the body) was expanded and flattened, often with a spike protruding from its end. The telsons of the Hughmilleriidae were not flattened, instead being lanceolate (in the shape of a lance or spike) and similar to those of more primitive eurypterids such as Eurypterus . Like other chelicerates, pterygotioids possessed chelicerae . These appendages are
3150-438: The most common. Pterygotioid fossils have also been recovered from other parts of the world where fossils of other eurypterid groups are absent, including Australia , Morocco , Libya , Florida , Saudi Arabia , China , Paris , South America , Bohemia and Siberia , which indicates that the group had spread significantly during their 70 million year existence. Pterygotioids appear to have been relatively abundant throughout
3213-401: The most derived group within the pterygotioid superfamily, there has been an ongoing debate on whether the hughmilleriids or the slimonids are the most closely related to the pterygotids, and thus also which of the two families is the most basal. This debate was resolved with the description of Ciurcopterus , a primitive pterygotid that clearly combines features of Slimonia (especially within
SECTION 50
#17330931215723276-420: The older gendarme type Medieval cavalry. While many Renaissance captains such as Sir Roger Williams continued to espouse the virtues of the lance, many such as François de la Noue openly encouraged its abandonment in the face of the pistol's greater armor piercing power, handiness and greater general utility. At the same time the adoption of pike and shot tactic by most infantry forces would neuter much of
3339-421: The only ones that appear before the mouth and take the form of small pincers used to feed in most eurypterid groups. This function is retained in the more basal Hughmilleriidae and Slimonidae, but pterygotid chelicerae were large and long with strong and well developed teeth on specialized chelae (claws). The first pterygotioid fossils to be uncovered were those of the type genus , Pterygotus . Louis Agassiz ,
3402-487: The outbreak of World War I . In initial cavalry skirmishes in France this antique weapon proved ineffective, German uhlans being "hampered by their long lances and a good many threw them away". A major action involving repeated charges by four regiments of German cavalry, all armed with lances, at Halen on 12 August 1914 was unsuccessful. Amongst the Belgian defenders was one regiment of lancers who fought dismounted. With
3465-570: The placement of their eyes, being located near or in some cases on the margin of the carapace (the "head" plate). Pterygotioids ranged in size from small eurypterids, the smallest being Hughmilleria wangi at just 6 centimetres (2.4 in) in length, to the largest arthropods to ever live, the largest being Jaekelopterus rhenaniae which might have reached lengths of 2.6 metres (8.5 ft). Like all other chelicerates , and other arthropods in general, pterygotioid eurypterids possessed segmented bodies and jointed appendages (limbs) covered in
3528-461: The post-war Imperial German Army subsequently adopted the lance as a primary weapon. After 1893 the standard German cavalry lance was made of drawn tubular steel, covered with clear lacquer and with a hemp hand-grip. At 3.58 meters (11.7 ft) it was the longest version then in use. The Austrian cavalry had included regiments armed with lances since 1784. In 1884, the lance ceased to be carried either as an active service or parade weapon. However
3591-556: The power of the lancer's breakneck charge, making them a non-cost effective type of military unit due to their expensive horses in comparison to cuirassiers and reiters, who usually charging only at a trot could make do with lower quality mounts. After the success of pistol-armed Huguenot heavy horse against their Royalist counterparts during the French Wars of Religion , most Western European powers started rearming their lancers with pistols, initially as an adjunct weapon and eventually as
3654-460: The species Pterygotus acuminata was named by John William Salter . The fossils referred to this species, recovered from Lesmahagow , Scotland , were soon realized to be distinct from other species of Pterygotus (such as the type species P. anglicus ) and that same year geologist David Page erected a new genus to contain the species. The new genus, Slimonia , could be differentiated from other known species of Pterygotus most apparently by
3717-555: Was added the ending -idae (for families). In botanical nomenclature , the phrase "type genus" is used, unofficially, as a term of convenience. In the ICN this phrase has no status. The code uses type specimens for ranks up to family, and types are optional for higher ranks. The Code does not refer to the genus containing that type as a "type genus". The 2008 Revision of the Bacteriological Code states, "The nomenclatural type […] of
3780-414: Was erected in 1912 by John Mason Clarke and Rudolf Ruedemann to constitute a group for the genera Pterygotus , Slimonia , Hastimima and Hughmilleria . Pterygotus had also been designated as containing two subgenera ; Pterygotus ( Curviramus ) and Pterygotus ( Erettopterus ), but Erettopterus would later be raised to its own genus. American paleontologist Erik N. Kjellesvig-Waering emended
3843-417: Was intended as a shock weapon in the charge, to be dropped after impact and replaced by the sword for close combat in a melee . While demoralizing to an opponent, the lance was recognized as being an awkward encumbrance in forested regions. The relative value of the lance and the sword as a principal weapon for mounted troops was an issue of dispute in the years immediately preceding World War I. Opponents of
SECTION 60
#17330931215723906-474: Was modified from its original war design. In jousting, the lance tips would usually be blunt, often spread out like a cup or furniture foot, to provide a wider impact surface designed to unseat the opposing rider without spearing him through. The centre of the shaft of such lances could be designed to be hollow, in order for it to break on impact, as a further safeguard against impalement. They were on average 3 meters (9.8 ft) long, and had hand guards built into
3969-899: Was usually employed in initial charges in close formation, with sabers being used in the melee that followed. The Crimean War saw the use of the lance in the Charge of the Light Brigade . One of the four British regiments involved in the charge, plus the Russian Cossacks who counter-attacked, were armed with this weapon. During the War of the Triple Alliance (1864–1870), the Paraguayan cavalry made effective use of locally manufactured lances, both of conventional design and of an antique pattern used by gauchos for cattle herding. The 1860s and 1870s saw
#571428