Almost all of us are startled when we see a scorpion, no matter how small it is. Well, imagine that scorpions were once dog-sized and were an underwater species. . . We do not think that you will want to swim in that sea. But these animals really existed for a while.
The species called Eurypterida is an extinct species of arthropod. While the earliest known Eurypterids are 467. 3 million years ago, dated to the Ordovician – Darriilian period, a new discovery has emerged that this species also once lived in the waters of Southern China.
Eurypterids are a lineage with the largest known arthropods to have ever lived. The largest of these is Jaekelopterus, with a size of 2.5 meters, which is quite daunting. But there were also very small ones among them; most species were shorter than 20 centimeters; even the smallest one is called Alkenopterus and was only 2.03 centimeters long. Eurypterid fossils can be found on every continent. While most of the fossils were taken from the fossil sites in North America and Europe, a fossil unearthed in the South China Sea added a new one to the family.
The name of the species is Terropterus xiushanensis, and this species makes a difference among Eurypterids by having spines on its tail, while it has different long and short spines on its forearms. The report describes T. Xiushanensis as a 1 meter long entity with a particularly enlarged prosomal limb, while being characterized by a unique array of spines.
To think that these dog-sized scorpions still exist today must be equivalent to living in a horror movie. Fortunately, it’s extinct. The reason for this is thought to be the world’s entry into the ice age.
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