Mixopterus (Eurypterid - "sea scorpion")

Mixopterus, a so called “sea scorpion”, created for an animation now on display at The Natural History Museum in Oslo, which features some of its original fossils. Eurypterids were only distantly related to modern scorpions, but several genera share a similar curved spine (the telson) at the end of the tail. Since they were marine animals, this spine likely had less of a defensive role and more of a streamlined, hydrodynamic function. Fossil trackways show they could use different gaits, either walking along the seafloor or swimming with their paddle-like limbs