Around 300 million years ago, a giant bug living in France died tragically young. The deceased Arthropleura was apparently just a kiddie, a tender hatchling mere inches in length, while adults of its species could reach more than 2.5 meters (8 feet).
The bug was an arthropod. We are more accustomed to our arthropods being bite-size. In a world of giant bugs, Arthropleura was the biggest ever to walk the face of the planet.
But actually we weren't sure what it was. Now we are. The true identity of Arthropleura, popularly known as "a giant millipede" and shown to be "a giant millipede"was revealed Wednesday by Prof.
Mickaël Lhéritier and colleagues in Science Advances , with commentary by Prof. James Lamsdell of West Virginia University. Arthropleura has been known for about 170 years.
Why didn't we know what it was? Because paleontologists hadn't found any with their heads. An arthropod is an invertebrate that typically possesses an exoskeleton that it must periodically molt in order to grow. All begin embryonically with segmented bodies and each segment theoretically has a pair of legs.
Over half a billion years of evolution, the final body shapes of the arthropods have become highly diverse. Common arthropods we know and love include shrimp, horseshoe crabs and butterflies. And centipedes and millipedes, known collectively as myriapods.
Fossils of Arthropleura's body and legs had been found all over Europe and North America, but not of its head. There may even be fossils.
