Fossil of a giant arthropod in Germany

2008/01/01 Elhuyar Zientzia Iturria: Elhuyar aldizkaria

• Paleontologia
• Arkeologia

A fossil of 400 million years ago is discovered near Prüm, in Germany. The fossil is only the yew of the animal, but it has a length of 46 centimeters and, from this measure, scientists have come to the conclusion that the whole animal was about two and a half meters. If extrapolation is direct, it would be the largest arthropod that was found.

According to experts, it is not the fossil of an unknown giant species, but the fossil of a giant specimen of the well-known species Jaekelopterus rhenaniae. Other large arthropods of the same time have also been found. In fact, at that time it was considered that the level of oxygen in the atmosphere was very high, which allowed to increase the size of the animals without lung, which have to expand the oxygen by diffusion of the tissues and that, to be large, the amount of oxygen in the atmosphere must also be very high.