Suara.com – For archaeologist recently discovered fossil scorpion (Terropterus xiushanensis) is 1 meter long or about the size of a dog, which lived about 435 million years ago.
Found in China, this scorpion has spiny limbs that are thought to be used to catch prey.
These predators lived during the Silurian Period, between about 443.8 million and 419.2 million years ago.
During this period, scorpions became apex predators at underwater lookouts to pounce on fish and molluscs.
Scorpions belonging to this eurypterid have various sizes, where the smallest size is the size of a human hand and the largest is the size of an adult human.
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According to experts, the newly described species is the first to be discovered belonging to the Mixopteriade family in 80 years.
“Our knowledge of this strange animal is limited to only four species in two genera described 80 years ago,” said Bo Wang of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Live Science, Tuesday (19/10/2021).
Terropterus xiushanensis was also the first mixtopterid to be found on the supercontinent Gondwana, which formed after the larger supercontinent Pangea split in two.
According to the experts, these findings indicate a lack of collection bias in this group of scorpions.
Future studies, particularly in Asia, are expected to reveal the spread of mixopteriades and possibly other groups of eurypterids.
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