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| Fossil Scorpions |
| Eurypterids.net |
| Proscorpius osborni was the first scorpion found as a fossil in the Late Silurian rocks of New York State. For more information, see Clarke & Ruedemann (1911-1912) "The Eurypterida of New York." The scorpion pictured above is one of many I found over the years in eastern New York (Phelps Waterlime Member of the Fiddlers Green Formation, Bertie Group). This and other scorpion specimens are described in a publication, "A restudy of the Fossil Scorpi- onida of the World" by Erik N. Kjellesvig-Waering (1986), Palaeontographica Americana 55: 1-287 |
| PAGE UNDER CONSTRUCTION |
| ALSO SEE: Associated Fauna and Scorpions Indiana |
| Also see: "The Scorpion Eurypterid" |
| Pandinus imperator Koch LEFT: is a mounted specimen of a large African scorpion that I pur- chased years ago at the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago. This specimen is 19 cm (nearly 8 inches) in length and is one of the largest scorpions living today. Pandinus lives in hot, humid tropical forests in the coastal coun- tries of West Africa. So not all scor- pions live in deserts... The "Scorpion Eurypterid" may have had a poison gland, though we do not have all of the evidence we need to prove this. Take a look at Paracarcinosoma scorpionis and the highly curved telson of this eurypterid. There can be no doubt that this was used against prey, but was it poisonous? |
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| Emperor Scorpion |
| Note the stinger (telson) on this specimen. And note that the 400+ million-year-old (fossil) scorpion above also is much like living scorpions in basic structure - even though Silurian scorpions are believed to have been aquatic. The stinger has been around for a very long time. Did any of the eurypterids have a 'stinger' during their history on the planet? Take a look at Eurypterid Gallery 11. |
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| Paleophonus caledonicus |
| Above: Figure 78 from Introduction to Historical Geology by William J. Miller, 3rd edition, 1928. |