Science
Reevaluated fossils reveal the largest known prehistoric scorpion
A re-examination of 150-year-old museum specimens shows Praearcturus gigas was a meter-long predator that lived 415 million years ago.
The short version
- Researchers from the Natural History Museum and the University of Manchester have reclassified 150-year-old fossil specimens of Praearcturus gigas as the largest scorpion known to science.
- The predator measured approximately one meter in length and inhabited ancient floodplain environments 415 million years ago, preceding the evolution of forests.
- The discovery suggests that early arthropods could attain extreme sizes due to ecological opportunities rather than high atmospheric oxygen levels.
Key facts
- A study published in the journal Palaeontology determined that Praearcturus gigas is the largest known scorpion species, measuring around one meter long with pincers exceeding 16 centimeters.[ScienceDaily]
- First described in 1871, the fossil specimens were originally classified as giant woodlouse-like crustaceans before modern imaging and comparisons with newer fossils enabled a correct classification.[ScienceDaily]
- The creature existed approximately 415 million years ago in what is now England and Wales during the Early Devonian period.[ScienceDaily]
- Because the species predates the rise of forests and the high atmospheric oxygen levels often linked to giant Carboniferous arthropods, researchers propose low predator competition allowed it to grow so large.[ScienceDaily]
What remains uncertain
- Researchers have not definitively determined whether Praearcturus gigas lived primarily in water, on land, or moved between both environments, though abdominal flaps suggest possible aquatic or semi-aquatic habits.[ScienceDaily]
Sources
- A coffee-table-size scorpion roamed Earth before forests existedScienceDaily - Environment