This small, but beautifully defined fossil Eurypterid is a wonderful specimen of the State Fossil of New York.
The New York State fossil, the Eurypterus remipes, was a bottom-dwelling arthropod that lived in brackish waters 410 million years ago over much of what is now New York state.
Eurypterus' average length was 5 to 9 inches, but other species of Eurypterids could reach over 6 feet. They had an armored head similar to a horseshoe crab with eyes on top, a body divided into segments, and a telson (tail-spine). Eurypterus had appendages for walking and oar-like paddles for swimming, and would shed their exoskeletons several times as they grew. Eurypterids were one of the first animals to venture from water to land.
This particular specimen was collected in 1989 at Lang's Quarry in Herkimer County, New York. Lang's Quarry is a privately owned section of the Fiddler's Green Formation that produces some of the finest Silurian-aged eurypterid specimens.
Type: Sea Scorpion Species: Eurypterus remipes Age: Upper Silurian Period (410 million years ago) Formation: Fiddlers Green Formation Locality: Phelps Waterlime Formation, Herkimer County, New York
Size of Plate: 6.25 x 4.5 x 1 inches Size of Specimen: 2.25 x .88 inches Weight: 1.14 lbs
