The Jaekelopterus

Jaekelopterus is a genus of predatory eurypterid, a group of extinct aquatic arthropods. Fossils

of Jaekelopterus have been discovered in deposits of Early Devonian age, from
the Pragian and Emsian stages. There are two known species: the type species J.
rhenaniae from brackish to fresh water strata in the Rhineland, and J. howelli from estuarine strata
in Wyoming. The generic name combines the name of German paleontologist Otto Jaekel, who
described the type species, and the Greek word πτερόν (pteron) meaning "wing".
Based on the isolated fossil remains of a large chelicera (claw) from the Klerf Formation of
Germany, J. rhenaniae has been estimated to have reached a size of around 2.3–2.6 metres (7.5–
8.5 ft), making it the largest arthropod ever discovered, surpassing other large arthropods such as
fellow eurypterids Acutiramus and Pterygotus and the millipede Arthropleura. J. howelli was much
smaller, reaching 80 centimetres (2.6 ft) in length.