The discovery of a giant fossilised claw from an ancient sea scorpion indicates that when alive it would have been about two and a half meters long, much taller than the average man. This find, from rocks 390 million years old, suggests that spiders, insects, crabs and similar creatures were much larger in the past than previously thought.
Dr Simon Braddy from the University of Bristol said, ‘This is an amazing discovery. We have known for some time that the fossil record yields monster millipedes, super-sized scorpions, colossal cockroaches, and jumbo dragonflies, but we never realised, until now, just how big some of these ancient creepy-crawlies were.’…
The claw is from a sea scorpion (eurypterid) Jaekelopterus rhenaniae that lived between 460 and 255 million years ago…Eurypterids are believed to be the extinct aquatic ancestors of scorpions and possibly all arachnids.
Arachnids, eh. There are a few Black Widows living in my woodpile that think they are this big.
Looks like scampi for 600. With a little garlic butter – yum!
Too bad this neither lived on land nor is around today. A land creature like this could do wonders for thinning the human herd.
“Too bad this neither lived on land nor is around today. A land creature like this could do wonders for thinning the human herd.”
You gotta be kidding, Misanthropic Scott. While I agree with your sentiment, I have to point out, other than Gaea Herself, there’s no more accomplished killer on the face of the earth than a human being.
If you don’t believe me, ask the surviving turkeys in the U.S. after this Thanksgiving holiday.
LOL. Scott, I’ve read comments about those monsters invading Tokyo and NYC in the old movies. The consensus was “monster pot roast”. Something built like that would be slow.
“Crab salad for everyone!”
(“Know what they call a horse in the Shades?” “Lunch.”)
Dude, I seen ’em down in the sewer. Big spiders, too, big as a doberman. That’s why I carry Raid in the big can.
Look at the size of that tail! That’s probably the Jennifer Lopez of Arachnids.