Another Sea Scorpion | The Institute for Creation Research

Another Sea Scorpion

There are few animals more nightmarish than an 8-foot sea scorpion. Although, they were not true scorpions, their fossils display a menacing and formidable creature.

The discovery of a giant fossilized claw from an ancient sea scorpion indicates that when alive it would have been about 2.5 meters [8.2 feet] long, much taller than the average man.1

We all can breathe a sigh of relief as most of them seemed to have perished in the Flood about 4500 years ago, or at least went extinct shortly thereafter.

Sea scorpions (order Eurypterida) are a chelicerate arthropod. They have no evolutionary history: “...the timing of chelicerate origins and the type of body plan that characterized the earliest members of this group have remained controversial.”2

They first “appeared” in Ordovician sediments as 100% sea scorpions, “Eurypterids first appeared in the Ordovician, attained their maximum diversity during the late Silurian and early Devonian, and became extinct at the end of Permian.”3 Nor has conventional science found any ancestors to the sea scorpions in rocks deposited earlier. It appears they were always sea scorpions from the beginning of creation.

Recently, zoologists have described a new eurypterid in South China, naming it Archopterus anjiensis. “It represents the first unequivocal Ordovician eurypterid recorded in China as well as the oldest one ever found in the country...“3

As always, the evolution connection of this new discovery is cryptic at best. The article stated that Archopterus adds “new knowledge to the early evolution of eurypterids in Gondwana,”3 and “any reported occurrence is of great significance to understanding their early evolutionary history.”3 New knowledge? Great significance? They’re still eurypterids (sea scorpions). “The specimen [Archopterus anjiensis] is preserved, together with diverse sponges, graptolites and occasional nautiloids, in a 10 m [33 feet] thick shale of marine deep-water setting.”4

Associated with diverse sponges, Archopterus anjiensis was found in a deep-water environment at a depth of several hundred meters. This occurrence, along with some Ordovician eurypterids from a normal marine environment, may indicate that some early eurypterids favored living in deeper waters than their post-Ordovician relatives.3

Or it may indicate that eurypterids were able to move in and fill a variety of marine ecosystems at various depths in the pre-Flood world. Indeed, the Phys.org article stated they had “high ecological diversity,” with some having the ability to breathe air.5

Very rarely, a new fossil species of a Eurypterid is discovered. Creationists embrace this and other unique fossil findings as they reflect the imaginative and artistic design of our Creator. We can only echo what was said in the Book of Acts, “Lord, thou art God, which hast made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all that in them is.”6

References

  1. Science Writer. Giant fossil sea scorpion bigger than man. Phys.org. Posted on phys.org November 21, 2007, accessed May 29, 2023.
  2. Aria, C. and J. Caron. 2019. A middle Cambrian arthropod with chelicerae and proto-book gills. Nature. 573:586-89.
  3. Yuan, L. Earliest sea scorpion from China found in end-Ordovician Anji Biota in Zhejiang. Phys.org. Posted on phys.org May 17, 2023, accessed May 29, 2023.
  4. Wang, H. et al. The first documentation of an Ordovician eurypterid (Chelicerata) from China. Cambridge University Press. Posted on cambridge.org May 10, 2023, accessed May 29, 2023.
  5. Lamsdell, J. et al. 2020. Air Breathing in an Exceptionally Preserved 340-Million-Year-Old Sea Scorpion. Current Biology. V. 30. pp. 4316-21.
  6. Acts 4:24

* Dr. Sherwin is science writer at the Institute for Creation Research. He earned an M.A. in zoology from the University of Northern Colorado and received an Honorary Doctorate of Science from Pensacola Christian College.

The Latest
NEWS
April 2025 ICR Wallpaper
"But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things...

NEWS
Human Evolution and the Inner Ear
The vain attempt by evolutionists to make an evolutionary connection between people and ape-like ancestors continues. This time, it is in regard to...

CREATION PODCAST
Defending the Faith with a Rocket Scientist | Creation.Live Podcast:...
How do engineering principles, biological complexity, and a solid understanding of apologetics work together to further the cause of Christ? Why...

NEWS
Aerobic and Anaerobic Hot Spring Bacteria
God designed a domain of prokaryotes called Archaea that thrive in harsh and extreme environments. In 1969, two microbiologists, Thomas Brock and Hudson...

CREATION PODCAST
The Soulless Hominid Theory: A Fatal Flaw in Old Earth Creationism...
Welcome to the second episode in a series called “The Failures of Old Earth Creationism.” Many Christians attempt to fit...

NEWS
Humpback Whale Calls Echo Creation
There is nothing simple about the system of communication called language, whether animal or human.1 Human language is a very sophisticated...

NEWS
Mary Parker, Creation Ministry Partner of Dr. Gary Parker, Is...
Mary Parker, the wife and co-laborer of Dr. Gary Parker, went home to be with her Lord on March 20, 2025. Dr. Parker was a popular and effective...

NEWS
Plants Rely on Quantum Mechanics
Scientists will probably never fully understand photosynthesis as additional research uncovers even more fascinating mysteries.1,2 ICR’s...

NEWS
Martian Polar Ice Cap ''Surprisingly Young''?
A team of German planetary scientists has concluded that a three-kilometer-thick northern polar ice cap on Mars has a “surprisingly young”...

NEWS
''Blood Worm Moon'' Total Lunar Eclipse 2025
Barring cloud cover, about 75% of the country saw the total lunar eclipse, aka the “Blood Worm Moon.” Texas had good weather conditions...