World’s Largest Arthropod Lived 300 Million Years Ago: Fossils Reveal Its True Form Now, always, the first creatures that appear in our mind as soon as we hear someone talking about giants from the prehistoric eras of Earth are dinosaurs. But long before dinosaurs walked the earth an even bigger arthropod by far dominated the oceans. This 16-foot-long millipede-like arthropod had the nickname Arthropleura and was the largest arthropod in history. New finds of fossils have provided researchers with a better understanding of what this huge invertebrate was like, creating new interest in the ancient world.
The Discovery: A Window Into the Past
The Carboniferous period around 300 million years ago, was also a remarkably rich period for life on Earth most of which if looked at by today’s standards would be quite bizarre. This was before large insects and other invertebrates roamed throughout marsh areas, due to the elevated amounts of oxygen in the air. The Arthropleura was a giant, multi-articulated animal, which might resemble the millipede seen today.
The finding of fossils in different places over the world especially in North America and Europe has enabled scientific researchers to gain considerable insight into the size, framework, and conduct of this titanic arthropod. A more or less complete skeletal structure was discovered in Northern England thereby becoming the greatest discovery in the fossil. Reaching over 8 feet in length and up to 2,5 feet in width, this single find gives an idea of how huge these beasts could get. Earlier fossil accounts of Arthropleura were fragmentary, meaning that some features of the appearance of an animal were a matter of conjecture, but now, the picture has become much clearer as the main features are illustrated.
Unveiling Arthropleura: What Did It Look Like?
Recent studies of fossils revealed that Arthropleura had a segmented body, though it was much larger than the millipede or centipede of today. It probably had between 30 and 40 segments and, as expected, each segment possessed a sort of shield which could be referred to as an armor that helped it to defend itself from predators. The segments were perhaps foldable to quickly adapt to manoeuvering through a jungle or just coastal land.
It is not clear the exact number of legs Arthropleura had, but it is expected that like other millipedes it could have been having hundreds of leg appendages that could have enabled it to move in the environmental setting. People think that the powerful legs it possessed would have rendered it an invincible animal capable of jumping over barriers and quickly running across the bushes.
Notably, considering today’s modern perceptions of Arthropleura as a fearsome monster, research is beginning to show that these creatures were most likely herbivores consuming the abundance of Carboniferous period plant life. Those woods of the era, measuring from massive ferns to colossal trees, held enough food for this herbivore.
Why Arthropleura Reached Great Size?
Size is one of the features that can easily draw anybody’s attention when talking about Arthropleura. Now first, this titanoboa measures over 8 feet long, making it the largest arthropod that has ever lived on Earth. But why did it grow so large?
Why then is it so large? Several theories help answer this question. One reason had to do with the high levels of oxygen that existed during the Carboniferous period. The oxygen concentrations in the water by that time were around 35% higher than today and this made it possible for many invertebrates to evolve to maximum size. Moreover, Arthropleura may have been unopposed by other animals except big land-based predators because there could have been none to compete for the available resources.
Moreover, the Carboniferous period which is characterized by the dense, swamp has provided the niches required for this giant arthropod. The plant-eating, Jacobons would have relied on the foliage for their food and the humidity is also crucial to these animal’s survival today as are millipedes that prefer habitats with a lot of moistness.
Getting to know the Carboniferous Period
To fully get acquainted with the Arthropleura, one must try to find out more about the environment in which this creature prevailed. Carboniferous period or about 360 to 299 million years ago refers to the time of swamp forests huge ferns and the first true trees. It was warm and humid; the majority of the Earth’s surface for this lithology included shallow seas and marshy areas.
With such high levels of oxygen, Arthropleura was sustained along with other large invertebrates; flying insects such as the giant dragonflies with wingspans over 2ft were evolved. At the time there were mostly amphibian-based terrestrial vertebrates and numerous true amphibians that favored the swampy environment.
Indeed, Arthropleura was not solitary in this ecosystem, even if it was rather large in length. Though its contemporaries were many prehistoric arthropods and amphibians most of which could not pose a threat to the large invertebrate bearing a hard exoskeleton.
Extinction: Where Did Arthropleura Go?
It, similar to many other species of the Carboniferous group, disappeared from the earth’s surface sometime later. Its disappearance is associated with different environmental transformations that took place at the end of the Carboniferous and at the start of the Permian period. The climate was changed to that which was dry, and the large swamps that before existed in large part of the Earth began to disappear.
With a shift in the environment, everything that favored the giant arthropods faded away. So when oxygen concentration decreased and a new crop of reptiles and other creatures evolved, the Arthropleura and many other large invertebrates became extinct.
The Importance of Fossils: A Look Into Earth’s Past
The news of new Arthropleura discoveries shows how valuable paleontology is in revealing the history of the Epoch that their fossils represent. These teach paleontologists about creatures that used to inhabit the surface of the planet and assist them devise how the living world has developed over millions of years.
The very existence of Arthropleura remains has helped paleontologists identify the size and appearance of one of the largest invertebrates that have once roamed our planet. Furthermore, through such findings, ideas can be gleaned with regards to the bio mangrove-like settings for the period of Carboniferous and factors that would enable the support of those massive forms of life.
These fossil also bring in new new interesting questions. Are there any even more gigantic arthropods that paleontologists have not yet come across? What other secrets are deep in the Carboniferous period? With every new fossils we unearth we get closer to answering these questions and to realizing the incredible variety of life that was present on Earth.
The scans revealed new aspects of Arthropleura’s anatomy in detail.
Lheritier et al., Sci. Adv. 10, eadp6362 (2024)
Conclusion:
A Giant from the Distant Past Arthropleura was giant amongst the giants which would be far larger than the contemporary animals including most of today’s man. Due to the new finds of fossils, it is easier to imagine how this giant arthropod appeared and to which it belonged. Flexible and armored on the outside and with multiple hundreds of legs Arthropleura was a great example of how life can be successful if circumstances are right.
With discoveries and revelations about the early Earth to come Arthropleura is a stark and fresh reminder of how full of surprises life can be. Although the planet cannot support it any longer, subtleties that remind of the magnificent creatures, that once dominated the Earth, much earlier than the era of dinosaurs, are found on the Moon.
Therefore the next time that you picture the behemoths of our planet’s history, you should picture Arthropleura the largest arthropod that ever roamed the Earth 300 million years ago.
