Abstract
A new fossil arachnid,Xenarachne willwerathensis n. gen., n. sp. is described from the Lower Devonian (upper Lower Emsian) Klerf-beds of Willwerath, Germany. This intriguing fossil has a pedicel and pygidium, indicating that it belongs to the tetrapulmonate arachnids, but cannot be referred with confidence to any particular order. It is placed as Tetrapulmonata incertae sedis, though has similarities to whip spiders (Amblypygi) and spiders (Araneae).Xenarachne could even represent a very early spider, though the Devonian arachnid fauna could have included taxa which did not belong in any currently recognised order.Xenarachne may be an example of just such a fossil.
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