Palaeophonus (meaning "ancient killer") is one of the oldest known genera of scorpions.
Fossil records This genus has been reported in the fossil record from the Silurian to the Carboniferous (age range: 428.2 to 314.6 million years ago). Fossils were described from Europe, the United States, and Canada.Paleobiology Database However revision by Dunlop & Garwood (2023) demonstrated that Allopalaeophonus is a junior synonym of Palaeophonus and that there are only two valid species, P. nuncius Thorell and Lindström 1884 from Sweden and P. caledonicus Hunter, 1886 from Scotland. The species P. arctus Matthew, 1894 from the Carboniferous of Canada and P. lightbodyi Kjellesvig-Waering 1954 from the Silurian of England are nomina dubia.
Description
Palaeophonus resembles modern scorpions, but differs in having short, pointed legs, as opposed to longer legs ending in a pair of claws. It grew to a lengths of .G. A. Polis The Biology of scorpions These animals did not have eyes and therefore they were blind. The Eurypterida of New York Volume 1.pdf/408
Palaeophonus seems to have been terrestrial.Alexander Petrunkevitch, 1953, Paleozoic and Mesozoic Arachnida of Europe
Species
Species within this genus include:
†P. caledonicus Hunter, 1886 †P. nuncius Thorell & Lindström, 1884
References
Frank H.T. Rodes, Herbert S. Zim en Paul R. Shaffer (1993) - Natuurgids Fossielen (het ontstaan, prepareren en rangschikken van fossielen), Zuidnederlandse Uitgeverij N.V., Aartselaar. ISBN D-1993-0001-361 s:The Scottish Silurian Scorpion R. I. Pocock, 1901