I am forwarding this inquiry from another list and will be happy to collect any information for
relay. Pterygotus is a eurypterid from the Lower Devonian of Scotland. A captioned illustration is at
http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/arthropoda/chelicerata/pterygotus.gif
"In 1839, Agassiz, in describing Pterygotus, refers to "the Seraphim of the Old Red Sandstone." As I gather, the Scotch quarrymen who would find Pterygotus fossils called them seraphim in reference to their scaly exoskeletons (seen as feathers?) and their wings (presumably their fan of legs under the prosoma and/or the paddles). Can someone point me towards any earlier references that Agassiz might have been referring to?"
Regards,
Edward Hennessey
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