Archopterus is a genus of eurypterid in the family Adelophthalmidae, represented by one species. It was discovered in the Wenchang Formation of Tianfucun, Anji County, Zhejiang Province, South China. This genus is represented by a single species (Archopterus anjiensis) from the Ordovician, the oldest species from China and also of its family.[1] [2]
Archopterus was a predator that may have fed on small mollusks, crustaceans and worms.
The only known fossil, found with various sponges, graptolites, and nautiloids in deep-water shale, now extends the range of the family of Adelophthalmidae from the early Silurian to late Ordovician. This also now supports the theory of the evolution of eurypterids in Gondwana.