A ten-legged sea spider (Arthropoda: Pycnogonida) from the Lower Devonian Hunsruck Slate (Germany)

A new sea spider (Arthropoda: Pycnogonida) from the Lower Devonian Hunsruck Slate (Germany) is described as Pentapantopus vogteli gen. et sp. nov. This is the fifth pycnogonid species known from this exceptional fossil Lagerstatte. The most conspicuous character of the new species is the presence of five pairs of walking legs. This character, in concert with a reduced abdomen, indicates a phylogenetic position of P. vogteli among the crown group pycnogonids. P. vogteli extends the knowledge of fossil pycnogonid body plans and underlines the significance of the Hunsruck Slate, as this locality shows the highest diversity of sea spiders for the entire fossil record so far.