The first known eurypterid specimen was discovered in the Silurian-aged rocks of New York, to this day one of the richest eurypterid fossil locations. Samuel L. Mitchill described the specimen, discovered near Westmoreland in Oneida county in 1818. He erroneously identified the fossil as an example of the fish "Silurus", likely due to the strange, catfish-like appearance of the carapace. Seven years later, in 1825, James E. DeKay examined the fossil and recognized it as clearly belonging to an arthropod. He thought the fossil, which he named "Eurypterus remipes", represented a crustacean of the order Branchiopoda, and suggested it might represent a missing link between the trilobites and more derived branchiopods. The name "Eurypterus" derives from the Ancient Greek words εὐρύς ("eurús"), meaning "broad" or "wide", and πτερόν ("pteron") meaning "wing".