Horseshoe crabs within Austrolimulidae represent the extreme limits to which the xiphosurid Bauplan could be modified. Recent interest in this group has uncovered an unprecedented diversity of these odd-ball xiphosurids and led to suggestions that Austrolimulidae arose during the Permian Period and had become extinct by the end of the Triassic Period. Here, we extend the temporal record of Austrolimulidae by documenting a new horseshoe crab from the Lower Jurassic (Hettangian) Bayreuth Formation, Franconiolimulus pochankei gen. et sp. nov. The novel specimen displays hypertrophied genal spines, a key feature indicative of Austrolimulidae, but does not show as prominent accentuation or reduction of other exoskeletal sections. In considering the interesting family, we explore the possible origins and explanations for the bizarre morphologies exhibited by the Austrolimulidae and present hypotheses regarding the extinction of the group. Further examination of horseshoe crab fossils with unique features will undoubtedly continue to increase the diversity and disparity of these curious xiphosurids.

中文翻译：

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来自德国的新鲎化石展示了三叠纪后澳洲鲎科的灭绝

Austrolimulidae 中的鲎代表了 xiphosurid 的极限极限保普兰可以修改。最近对这个群体的兴趣发现了这些奇球剑虫史无前例的多样性，并导致人们认为南方鲟科在二叠纪出现并在三叠纪末期灭绝。在这里，我们通过记录下侏罗纪（Hettangian）拜罗伊特组的一种新鲎，扩展了南方鲎科的时间记录，鲶鱼将军 等人。十一月 新标本显示出肥大的生殖棘，这是南方鲻科的一个关键特征，但并未显示为其他外骨骼部分的突出或减少。在考虑这个有趣的家庭时，我们探讨了澳大利亚鲶科所表现出的奇异形态的可能起源和解释，并提出了关于该群体灭绝的假设。对具有独特特征的鲎化石的进一步研究无疑将继续增加这些奇特剑虫的多样性和差异性。