By Steve Scarpa
Cute. Almost edible. Those are two of the more unusual ways to describe the new sea scorpion (eurypterid) model in the Peabody’s Ancient Oceans exhibition.
Fearsome could be another way to describe it, with its large eyes and long piercing claws.
The Peabody currently displays one of the largest complete eurypterid fossils on the planet as part of what is the world’s largest collection of the creatures. These giant relatives of the modern horseshoe crab, commonly known as sea scorpions, grew by replacing their old outer skeleton with a new one, a process that happened several times during their lives.
While impressive in their fossil form, it can still be hard to imagine how otherworldly these predatory animals looked. Peabody curator Derek Briggs decided to help spark visitors’ imaginations. Briggs commissioned the creation of a lifelike eurypterid model to sit alongside its real-life counterpart in the gallery. The team at 10 Tons in Copenhagen, Denmark, led by Esben Horn, created the model for the Peabody.
The final product is tan with brown stripes, pure speculation, of course, because no information existed about the animal’s color, Briggs said. The most striking feature are the two pronounced claws sticking out from the sea scorpion’s head. Briggs said those claws are rarely if ever found attached in larger fossils, which are generally moults. The detailed model gives a clear sense of the length of those claws.
The installation team gathered on a Monday morning – maintenance a0nd upgrades often happen when the museum is closed. So, the group, comprised of Briggs, Susan Butts, Erynn Johnson (Collection Manager, Invertebrate Paleontology, Nick Pfaff (Museum Technician, Exhibitions), and Jessica Utrup (Museum Assistant, Invertebrate Paleontology) worked to put the new sea scorpion in place.
The team circled the open case. They chatted about the best way to display the model, which they thought was kind of cute. It took a couple of tries to capture the most fetching angle for the sea scorpion against the light blue background of the case.
“My main thing is, can you see both claws and both eyes?” said Butts, Director of Collections and Research.
“Does it need to be higher?” Briggs said.
“It certainly looks edible,” Butts said.
“It’s so incredibly realistic,” Briggs said.
That last point was important to Briggs. He wanted to be sure that the public could envision these creatures. While eurypterids were believed to be apex predators because they had acute vision, the truth is something more complex.
According to Briggs’ research, the giant sea scorpion on display in the Peabody was an ambush predator that reached lengths of about 8 feet, and probably surprised its prey in low-light conditions. Some of its giant relatives, however, actively pursued their prey. It’s certainly enough to fire the imagination.
“People will be more attracted to the case because they’ll say, wow, this what they really looked like,” he said
