Picture Credit: Patrick Lynch/Yale University

A new oldest Eurypterid was discovered in 2010 from the Winneshiek lagerstätte (site of special preservation) near Decorah, Iowa.  The animal is called Pentecopterus decorahensis.  It lived between 467.3 and 458.4 million years ago (Middle Ordovician), and it predates the previous oldest by about 9 million years.  This show is an interview with the lead autthor Dr James Lamsdell of Yale University.  He discusses Eurypterids in general and gives many details about this new species.  

The original paper appeared in the journal BMC Evolutionary Biology.