The first sea monsters on Earth turns out to be a giant scorpion as big as a human. It was revealed in the publication in the BMC Evolutionary Biology journal on Monday, August 31, 2015. The giant scorpion measuring about 183 centimeters lived 460 million years ago, long before dinosaurs dominated the Earth.
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| An artist's rendering of the Pentecopterus decorahensis. (Picture from: http://wapo.st/1L6zUQm) |
Ancient animal was first discovered by geologists of the Iowa Geological Survey. They found about 150 giant scorpion fossil fragments in the Upper Iowa River at a depth of 2 meters.
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| Fossilized remains of the Pentecopterus’s many limbs. (Picture from: http://wapo.st/1L6zUQm) |
James Lamsdell from Yale University then came examining fossils. From the analysis, it is known that the ancient animal was a new species. This sea monster named 'Pentecopterus decorahensis' by the name of the Greek god of war, then Lamsdell said, "This is the first giant predator. I would not want to swim with him."
Lamsdell revealed, the giant scorpions was included in the family eurypterid, a sea scorpions groups that became extinct. Unlike the terrestrial scorpion living today, and the tail of P. decorahensis not sting. The section is useful for balancing the body while swimming.
However, that does not mean it was terrible scorpion. From his head, sticking a dozen active arm will move prey gripped and pulled into the mouth. "The giant scorpion obviously a very aggressive animal," said Lamsdell as quoted by the Washington Post on Tuesday, September 1, 2015. "He was a wild animal."
Actually, there is a greater scorpion contemporaries P decorahensis, but only live on the seabed by filtering nutrients, not wild. And P. decorahensis is the most ferocious animal in his day. *** [EKA | FROM VARIOUS SOURCES | WASHINGTON POST]
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