This incredible fossil Eurypterid with a clear paddle is a beautiful example of the appendages these prehistoric creatures used to get around the seas in which they lived. The definition of the segmented body and evident eyes on the top of the head all make for 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. 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. Eurypterids were one of the first animals to venture from water to land.
Type: Sea Scorpion
Species: Eurypterus remipes
Age: Upper Silurian Period (410 million years ago)
Formation: Fiddlers Green Formation
Locality: Phelps Waterline Formation, Herkimer County, New York
Size of Plate: 6.63 x 4.94 x 1.81 inches
Size of Specimen: 5.69 x 4.69 inches
Weight: 3.10 lbs