| Giant Bugs:
Simon Braddy, a scientist from Bristol Paleontology University, expressed an idea that 390 millions years before spiders, insects, crabs and alike creatures were rather larger than now.
Scholar says – “In terms of found fossils we already knew that several millipedes were of huge sizes; big scorpions, huge cockroaches and giant dragonflies. But so far we could not imagine how big several of those ancient vermigrade creatures were”.
Yahoo reports - Scientists came to know about the existence of a sea scorpion, which was 50 cm larger than the ones found earlier. This means before this species had become extinct, there were scorpions whose length exceeded modern man’s average height.
Professor George V. Schneider, paleontologist from Academy of Mining Industry, Freiberg, South-West Germany who did not take participation in research says that this type of scorpions “was preponderant for many million of years, because it didn’t have natural enemies and ultimately wiped out by a big fish with jaws and teeth”.
Braddy puts over: some geologists suggest that the giant sea scorpions so actively developed owing to high level of oxygen in atmosphere. Some scientists think that it happened due to “arms race” between them and probable prey- fish whose body was covered with natural armor. Braddy also says that sea scorpions were cannibals who killed and ate each other.
“Millions of years before these sea scorpions dominated vertebrates, for instance, like humans” scientist says. Braddy suggested next time when killing a fly or spider think about the insects which lived many years before: “You would not want to hurt one among them” |
More news from paleontology this week. Scientists discovered a fossilized part of the biggest bug ever known - the ancient sea scorpion was 8 feet long and lived over 360 million years ago. This discovery suggests that spiders, bugs, crabs, and similar creatures were much larger in the past than their present day relatives.
