Brontoscorpio
Brontoscorpio anglicus is a species of fossil scorpion. Its remains were discovered in Upper Silurian-aged sandstone from Trimpley, Worcestershire, and the species was described on the basis of an incomplete single free finger of a pedipalp, almost 10 centimetres (3.9 in) long.[1][2] The complete animal is estimated to have been at least 90 centimetres (35 in) long.[1]
| Brontoscorpio | |
|---|---|
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| Artist's impression of Brontoscorpio with size comparison | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Subphylum: | Chelicerata |
| Class: | Arachnida |
| Order: | Scorpiones |
| Family: | incertae sedis |
| Genus: | †Brontoscorpio Kjellesvig-Waering, 1972 |
| Species: | †B. anglicus |
| Binomial name | |
| †Brontoscorpio anglicus Kjellesvig-Waering, 1972 | |
The remains were found in terrestrial sediments, but it is believed, that due to its size, Brontoscorpio had to enter the water to molt. Possibly it lived a semi or fully aquatic life.[3]
References
- Kjellesvig-Waering, Erik N. (1972). "Brontoscorpio anglicus: a gigantic Lower Paleozoic scorpion from central England". Journal of Paleontology. 46 (1): 39–42. JSTOR 1302906.
- Jeram, Andrew J. "Phylogeny, classification and evolution of Silurian and Devonian scorpions". In Selden, Paul A. (ed.). Proceedings of the 17th European Colloquium of Arachnology, Edinburgh 1997, 1998 (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-25. Retrieved 2011-04-05.
- The Biology of scorpions. Polis, Gary A., 1946-. Stanford, Calif.: Stanford University Press. 1990. ISBN 0804712492. OCLC 18991506.CS1 maint: others (link)
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