Eurypterid Eurypterids are an extinct group of arthropods related to the present-day horseshoe crab. Specimens vary in length from a few centimeters to over three meters. Eurypterids inhabited what is now western New York some 500 million years ago from the Ordovician Period through the Permian Period (250 million years ago) when they became extinct. There are over 250 species of eurypterids in 73 valid genera, which began with the first eurypterid to be scientifically described in 1825. In 1875, Grote and Pitt described this Pterygotus cummingsi, later named Pterygotus buffaloensis and further considered the type species of Acutiramus. This claw belongs to a member of the genus Acutiramus of the family Pterygotidae. A family of eurypterids that included the largest of these arthropods yet known. By analyzing this fossil claw, researchers conclude that the structure allowed objects to be entrapped and held. Indicating that Acutiramus may have been an active predator. While this specimen was deposited at the Museum over a hundred years ago, its role in science is ongoing. Since coming to the Museum, the name has been changed, the family association clarified, and the structure of the claw analyzed. Museum specimens are far from retired when they enter a storage room, their work to uncover more about life in the past continues with each new research question and advances in analytical techniques. What will this specimen illustrate next?
66|67
