2024 in arthropod paleontology

2024 in arthropod paleontology is a list of new arthropod fossil taxa, including arachnids, crustaceans, trilobites, and other arthropods (except insects, which have their own list) that were announced or described, as well as other significant arthropod paleontological discoveries and events which occurred in 2024.

Araneological research

 * Córdova-Tabares et al. (2024) describe a sac spider specimen from the Mexican amber preserved with an ant belonging to the genus Azteca, providing evidence of a fossil spider showing trapping and feeding behavior seen also in its extant relatives.

Opiliones research

 * Gainett et al. (2024) report that extant daddy longlegs have six eyes, including four vestigial ones, and reevaluate the affinities of fossil members of Opiliones with four eyes, resulting in older estimated ages of harvestman diversification.

Schizomid research

 * A study on changes of body size and shape diversity of male flagella in Schizomida throughout their evolutionary history is published by Belojević et al. (2024).

Trombidiform research

 * Larvae of mites belonging to the group Erythraeoidea parasitising gall midges (providing evidence of an association unknown in extant fauna) are reported from the Cretaceous amber from Myanmar by Arce et al. (2024), who interpret this finding as indicative of shift of the host range of the studied mites after the Cretaceous.

Eurypterid research

 * Bicknell, Gaines & Hopkins (2024) describe a carcinosomatid specimen from the Ordovician strata from the Beecher's Trilobite Bed (New York, United States) preserving the first evidence for mesosomal musculature in eurypterids, and providing evidence that eurypterid musculature can be preserved in pyrite.

Xiphosuran research

 * A specimen of Tachypleus syriacus preserved with intestinal contents transitioning into a coprolite is described from the Cenomanian Hjoula Lagerstätte (Lebanon) by Bicknell et al. (2024).

Malacostracan research

 * A study on the hydrodynamic performance of carapaces of caryocaridid archaeostracans, providing evidence that the carapace shapes facilitated the pelagic mode of life of caryocaridids, is published by Pates & Xue (2024).
 * Redescription of Kellnerius jamacaruensis is published by Barros, Oliveira & Saraiva (2024), who reaffirm the inclusion of this shrimp within the family Palaemonidae.
 * Redescription of "Dromiopsis" oscari is published by LaBonte, Schweitzer & Feldmann (2024) who transfer this crab from the family Dynomenidae to the family Goniodromitidae and to the genus Sabellidromites.

Ostracod research

 * A study on pores and associated canals in extant and Triassic ornate bairdiids, providing new morphological data interpret as supporting the interpretation of the Triassic genera Mirabairdia and Nodobairdia as distinct from the extant genus Triebelina, is published by Forel et al. (2024).
 * Taxonomic revision of ostracods from the Lower Cretaceous Codó Formation (Brazil) is published by Coimbra & Petró (2024).
 * A study on changes of the diversity of ostracods from the Indo-Australian Archipelago region throughout the Cenozoic, aiming to determine factors responsible for recorded changes, is published by Tian et al. (2024), who argue that the studied region became the richest marine biodiversity hotspot mostly as a result of immunity to major extinction events during the Cenozoic, shift towards colder climate and the increase in habitat size (shelf area).

Other crustacean research

 * Alarcón et al. (2024) report the discovery of new clam shrimp assemblages from the Upper Triassic (Norian) Bocas and Montebel formations (Colombia), providing evidence of a similar composition of Norian clamp shrimp assemblages from northwestern Gondwana and rift basins of central Pangea (but different from those from southern Gondwana).

Trilobite research

 * Drage (2024) finds evidence of only minor differences in morphometry between trilobites displaying different modes of moulting.
 * Trilobite fossil material from the Tiout section in Morocco, representing the first occurrence of trilobites in West Gondwana and some of the oldest trilobite fossils in general, is determined to be approximately 519.62-million-years-old by Sinnesael, Millard & Smith (2024).
 * El Albani et al. (2024) report the discovery of exceptionally preserved trilobite specimens from the Cambrian Tatelt Formation (Morocco) fossilized through rapid ash burial caused by underwater pyroclastic flow, providing new information on the trilobite anatomy.
 * Evidence interpreted as indicative of a direct link between the spread of low-oxygen conditions in shallow-water settings and the turnover of trilobites from the North China Platform during the Steptoean positive carbon isotope excursion is presented by Yang et al. (2024).
 * Hopkins, Gutiérrez-Marco & Di Silvestro (2024) describe fossil material of Leptoplastides salteri from the Fezouata Formation (Morocco), extending known range of this species from Avalonia into Gondwana.
 * Specimens of Dalmanitina socialis preserved with remains of the alimentary tract are described from the Ordovician Letná Formation (Czech Republic) by Fatka, Budil & Mikuláš (2024).
 * Bicknell et al. (2024) describe a specimen of Toxochasmops vormsiensis from the Katian Kõrgessaare Formation (Estonia) preserved molted within the body chamber of a nautiloid cephalopod Gorbyoceras textumaraneum, representing the first known record of cryptic molting of pterygometopid trilobites.
 * A study on the biogeography of Cheirurina during the Ordovician is published by Pérez-Peris, Adrain & Daley (2024).

Other arthropods

 * O'Flynn et al. (2024) describe new fossil material of Bushizheia yangi from the Cambrian Chengjiang Lagerstätte (China), providing new information on its head morphology, and interpret the studied specimens as supporting the interpretation of a six-segmented head as an ancestral state for Deuteropoda.
 * Redescription and a study on the affinities of Urokodia aequalis is published by Liu et al. (2024), who interpret this arthropod as a basal member of Artiopoda, and interpret its body plan as likely similar to the ancestral body plan for Artiopoda.
 * Lin et al. (2024) describe new fossil material of Retifacies abnormalis from the Cambrian Helinpu Formation (Yunnan, China) including large specimens with a carapace ornamentation different from what was previously known, and interpret the reported differences as developing during ontogeny, but don't consider them to indicate sexual dimorphs.

General research

 * Loewen et al. (2024) describe a diverse amber deposit from the Maastrichtian strata from the Big Muddy Badlands (Canada), preserving fossils of representatives of seven arthropod orders and at least 11 insect families, and interpret the studied assemblage as providing evidence of a faunal turnover among insects prior to the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event.