Balteurypterus podolicus, Silurian; UKR

Age: SilurianLocality: Kamjanez-Podilskyj, Khmelnytskyi oblast, UkraineSize matrix: approx. 4 x 3,5 x 1,5 cmSize head: 2 x 2 cmEurypterids, also known as sea scorpions because of their pointed tails, evolved in the Ordovician. They were the dominant predators of the Upper Ordovician, Silurian and Lower Devonian seas and reached their greatest species diversity at that time.The most imposing representatives of this order could grow up to 3 m long, while Balteurypterus tetragonophtalmus only reached a few modest centimetres. The large group of eurypterids possessed a fin-like, powerful last pair of legs. They had two respiratory systems - book gills and gill plates - and trace fossils show that they were quite capable of walking on land. Unfortunately, they didn't quite make the leap, because like their close relatives, the horseshoe crabs, they used the tips of their legs to chew, which is much more efficient underwater than on land. Fish also increasingly competed with them in the sea, so that they retreated to the river systems. By the Permian, there were only a few species of these presumably largest known arthropods of all time.Colors on product photos may differ from those of the original specimen for technical reasons.

Two cephala and several thorax segments of Balteurypterus tetragonophtalmus.Eurypterids, also known as sea scorpions because of their pointed tails, evolved in the Ordovician. They were the dominant predators of the Upper Ordovician, Silurian and Lower Devonian seas and attained their maximum species diversity at that time.The most impressive representatives of this order could grow up to 3 m long, while Balteurypterus tetragonophtalmus only reached a few modest centimetres. The large group of eurypterids possessed a fin-like, powerful last pair of legs. They had two respiratory systems - book gills and gill plates - and trace fossils show that they were quite capable of walking on land. Unfortunately, they didn't quite make the leap, because like their close relatives, the horseshoe crabs, they used the tips of their legs to chew, which is much more efficient underwater than on land. Fish also increasingly competed with them in the sea, so that they retreated to the river systems. By the Permian, there were only a few species of these presumably largest known arthropods of all time. Age: Silurian, Bagovitsa Fm;Locality: Smotrych (left tributary of the Dniester), near Kamjanez-Podilskyj, Khmelnytskyi oblast, UkraineSize head: 1 x 1.3 cmSize matrix: approx. 5 x 7 x 1 cmColors on product photos may differ from those of the original specimen for technical reasons.