Proscorpius

{{Short description|Extinct genus of scorpions}}

{{Automatic taxobox

| fossil_range = Wenlock-Lochkovian, {{fossilrange|422.9|416.0|earliest=Llandovery}}

| image = Proscorpius osborni YPM IP 545850.png

| image_caption = Fossil specimen YPM IP 545850

| image2 = Proscorpius top view reconstruction.png

| image2_caption = Life restoration

| image2_upright = 0.6

| taxon = Proscorpius

| authority = Whitfield, 1885

| type_species = {{extinct}}Proscorpius osborni

| type_species_authority = (Whitfield, 1885)

| synonyms = *Archaeophonus eurypteroides Kjellesvig-Waering, 1966

• Stoermeroscorpio delicatus Kjellesvig-Waering, 1966

}}

Proscorpius (meaning 'dawn scorpion') is an extinct genus of proscorpiid scorpion that was originally thought to have been a eurypterid. Proscorpius lived during the Silurian and Devonian periods (about 422.9–416.0 ma). The type and only species, Proscorpius osborni is an example of one of the earliest scorpions. It was discovered in the Lagerstätte Bertie Formation (Fiddlers Green Member);[https://paleobiodb.org/classic/displayCollResults?collection_no=153532 Passage Gulf] at Fossilworks.org an epifaunal stratum of New York.{{cite news |url=https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg12617214.200-when-scorpions-ruled-the-world-scorpions-took-the-big-step-onto-solid-ground-about-300-million-years-ago-scottish-fossils-reveal-how-they-evolved-to-leave-the-seas-and-become-the-first-predators-on-land.html |title=When scorpions ruled the world |work=New Scientist |date=June 16, 1990 |author=Andrew Jeram}} The fossil measures roughly 3.8 cm (1.5 inches) in length, however, it is missing part of the tail, so in life the animal would be slightly longer.{{Cite journal |last=Whitfield |first=R. P.|date=31 July 1885 |title=An American Silurian Scorpion |url=https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.ns-6.130.87 |journal=Science |volume=ns-6 |issue=130 |pages=87–88 |doi=10.1126/science.ns-6.130.87 |issn=0036-8075 |pmid=17808848|bibcode=1885Sci.....6...87W }}