Scientists Identify the Head of a Giant Millipede-Centipede Hybrid

Experts knew about Arthropleura, but this is the first time scientists have seen its head

life-size reconstruction of Arthropleura — Image Source: Wikicommons

I’m not a fan of bugs, but I do my best to rescue, rather than kill, the ones in my home. Still, anything larger than a coin evokes a sharp “nope” response, and I either find a shoe or call for help. So the fact that creepy crawly creatures like millipedes and centipedes were once bigger than me is as terrifying as the idea of being lost in Space.

Yet, hundreds of millions of years ago, such a time did exist, when animals like arthropods grew to enormous sizes — and scientists have the fossils to prove it. Recently, experts identified the head of a giant millipede/centipede hybrid that grew longer than your mattress.

Arthropleura

Considered an arthropod, Arthropleura resembled something akin to a millipede or centipede, except they grew to over 8.5 feet (2.6 meters) long and could weigh over 100 pounds.

According to Amgueddfa Cymru, one of the seven National Museums of Wales, Arthropleura fossils have been found in Belgium, the Czech Republic, Germany, France, and the UK. Sedimentary geologist Neil Davies of Cambridge’s Department of Earth Sciences found the largest so far in…