This is Mazon Monday post #169. What's your favorite Mazon Creek fossil? Tell us at email:[email protected].
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Way back in Mazon Monday #47, we discussed Mazon Creek centipedes, however Mazoscolopendra richardsoni (Richardson's Mazonian centipede) wasn't mentioned. M. richardsoni is the second most common centipede known from Mazon Creek, but centipedes are exceedingly rare in the Mazon Creek fossil deposit. M. richardsoni was described by Peter Mundel of the University of Wisconsin in 1979 in "The centipedes (Chilopoda) of the Mazon Creek", which appeared in Matthew Nitecki's "Mazon Creek Fossils".
Jack Wittry writes about Mazoscolopendra richardsoni on page 56 of The Mazon Creek Fossil Fauna".
Mazoscolopendra richardsoni Mundel, 1979
Modern scolopendromorphs are structurally little modified from this Pennsylvanian chilopod. Scolopendra gigantea, an extant member of the order, grows to a length of 25 cm or more in the jungles of Central America and is the largest known centipede. Its front legs are modified into venomous fangs deadly enough to immobi- lize mice. Mazoscolopendra richardsoni is assumed to have borne similar armament and to have eaten a wide variety of prey, from worms to possibly small vertebrates. Specimens of this ani- mal are the second most common centipede in the Mazon Creek Biota.
M. richardsoni has a body length of 5 cm or more, with 20 or more segments, and one pair of jointed legs per segment. Most legs are one and one-half times as long as the body width. The last pair is remarkably long and sturdy, projects posteriorly, and is equal to about one-fifth the animal's body length. Individual body segments have the outline of round-cornered trapezoids. The head bears long antennae with eyespots not visible. The general appearance of this animal is relatively narrow and flat.
M. richardsoni appears on page 179 of the "Richardson's Guide to the Fossil Fauna of Mazon Creek".
Mazoscolopendra richardsoni Mundel
This centipede, up to 53 mm (2 in.) long has 21 leg-bearing trunk segments, long legs, and antennae with at least 14 segments (Mundel, 1979, pp. 363-366). Its name, loosely translated, is "Richardson's Mazonian centipede." The second most common centipede at Mazon Creek, M. richardsoni has been reported from Pit 11, an Essex fauna locality.
Specimens
from "The centipedes (Chilopoda) of the Mazon Creek". FMNH PE 29002
from the "Richardson's Guide to the Fossil Fauna of Mazon Creek".
from "The Mazon Creek Fossil Fauna".
This specimen appeared in the "Creature Corner" column and book. It was drawn by Don Auler.
