Eurypterus - Classification

Classification

The genus Eurypterus belongs to the family Eurypteridae. They are classified under the superfamily Eurypteroidea, suborder Eurypterina, order Eurypterida, and the subphylum Chelicerata. Until recently, eurypterids were thought to belong to the class Merostomata along with order Xiphosura. It is now believed that eurypterids are a sister group to Arachnida, closer to scorpions and spiders than to horseshoe crabs.

Eurypterus was the first recognized taxon of eurypterids and is the most common. As a consequence, nearly every remotely similar eurypterid in the 19th century was classified under the genus (except for the distinctive members of the family Pterygotidae and Stylonuridae). The genus was eventually split into several genera as the science of taxonomy developed.

In 1958, several species distinguishable by closer placed eyes and spines on their swimming legs were split off into the separate genus Eiropterus by Erik Kjellesvig-Waering. Another split was proposed by Lief Størmer in 1973 when he reclassified some Eurypterus to Baltoeurypterus based on the size of the some of the last segments of their swimming legs. O. Erik Tetlie in 2006 deemed these differences too insignificant to justify a separate genus. He merged Baltoeurypterus back into Eurypterus. It is now believed that the minor variations described by Størmer are simply the differences found in adults and juveniles within a species.