Images Dated 31st May 1990

Fossil of a sea scorpion, Eurypterus remipes

Fossil of a sea scorpion, Eurypterus remipes, from the late Siliurian period (about 400 million years ago). Sea scorpions were aquatic arthropods which became extinct in the Permian period, approximately 225 million years ago. They were related to the horseshoe crabs and, more distantly, to the arachnids (spiders, scorpions, etc.). The body has two sections, a squarish cephalothorax (head) and a tapering opisthosoma (abdomen) composed of twelve segments, the final segment terminating in a large spine. The cephalo- thorax bears six pairs of appendages; the enlarged, flattened, flipper-like swimming legs are the only ones clearly visible here. Found in Fiddler's creek formation, Bertie Group, Passage Gulf, Cedarville, New York County, USA

© SINCLAIR STAMMERS/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY