Giant sea scorpion which prowled ancient oceans revealed

Scientists have unearthed the remains of a "bizarre" monster sea scorpion which 460 million years ago prowled the oceans covering what is now North America. The remains of the 1.7m-long eurypterid Pentecopterus decorahensis were found in Iowa by a team led by Yale's Dr James Lamsdell. They reveal multiple forelimbs probably …

[Sir Runcible Spoon]

Thank $deity

"1.7m-long"

"the ancestors of modern spiders"

I, for one, am grateful that they grew smaller.

[Herbert Meyer]

Re: Thank $deity

You need to drink more. It makes the spiders bigger.

[Chris Miller]

Re: Thank $deity

Land arthropods are limited in size by their oxygenation system, usually trachea or book lungs, and lack of the circulatory system found in vertebrates. Basically, any tissue that was more than an inch or so from the surface wouldn't be able to get enough oxygen from the atmosphere and would die. Marine arthropods, such as lobsters and this beauty, don't have the same limitation.

[Anonymous Custard]

Re: Thank $deity

If that's what the one they dug up in North America looks like, I'd dread to think what its Australian cousin looks like, if more modern fauna is any guide...

[chivo243]

Re: Thank $deity

Mmmm boiled Pentecopterus decorahensis, now all we need is two gallons of fresh lemon juice, and 5 gallons of drawn butter! And a bib the size of a putting green.

[I ain't Spartacus]

Re: Thank $deity

Normally I quite like spiders. But if the wife complains about finding one of these in the bath, she's on her own.

We're also going to have to re-write that song about the old lady who swallowed a fly. I don't think a bird is going to cut it, when it comes to dealing with this spider. Which I'd imagine won't so much wriggle, as rampage...

I know an old lady

Who swallowed a lion

[Sgt_Oddball]

Re: Thank $deity

Yeah. Killing it with fire might not work so well.

I'd hazard if thermobaric weapons will do the job... I suggest going straight to nuclear bombs from orbit. It's the only way to be sure....

[Youngone]

Re: Thank $deity

If you're looking for a bird to deal with one of those, try this one: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Titanis

Separated by a few hundred million years though.

[Michael Wojcik]

Re: Thank $deity

The smaller ones can still be pretty creepy.

(By the way, Wong's book is a fine novel, but probably not suitable for arachnophobes.)

[Little Mouse]

Sy-Fy fodder.

"Pentecopterusnado"? "Ice-Pentecopterus"? "Two-Headed-Mega-Pentecopterus"?

I can't wait....

[Cubical Drone]

Re: Sy-Fy fodder.

"Pentecopterus IX: This Time it's Personal!"

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Sy-Fy fodder.

"Sy-Fy" - that is one ugly and stupid construction. (And yes, I know why they thought up this monstrosity of a "word" but it's beyond justification.)

[Fungus Bob]

Re: Sy-Fy fodder.

"Pentecopterus vs. Mega-Coelacanth"

[Chris Gray 1]

Seen on Primeval

One of the local TV stations just finished broadcasting the one season of "Primeval: New World", which is a sort-of followon to the UK "Primeval".

IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2295953/?ref_=fn_al_tt_5

The two-part season ender featured giant scorpions. I found this article very timely.

Now we just have to find out how to control the "anomolies".

[asdf]

Re: Seen on Primeval

>The two-part season ender featured giant scorpions.

Yes but were done as cheesy as in the original Clash of the Titans movie?

[yakitoo]

Hmm

I'm pretty sure that I was married to that once.

[Hollerith 1]

Re: Hmm

I wonder what creature your ex identifies with you.

[yakitoo]

Re: Hmm

Oh something warm and cuddly I expect.

[Rusty 1]

We're going to need...

a bigger barbecue!

[Mark 85]

Well done!

They found something new and by our standards, it's "bizarre". But was it bizarre for the period in which it lived? The "aggressive" part also.. why would they think that? It's just as possible it was a run of the mill meal item for something else.

Disclaimer: They may be right. I was raised to question everything from speculation about fossils to politicians and in the last 15 years have added being skeptical when someone says "we take your privacy seriously".

[Pascal Monett]

Re: we take your privacy seriously

Oh but they do - they are seriously interested in your privacy.

They're just not interested in protecting it.

[DocJames]

Re: Well done!

Well, the person who described it as bizarre is a palaeontologist so yes, I think they do know what they're talking about for that period. Behaviour is more tricky, but I think that it's pretty clear this ain't going to survive on seaweed.

DOI: not a palaeontologist; I am relying entirely on the reported expert opinion, which at least seems plausible.

[Vic]

Re: Well done!

have added being skeptical when someone says "we take your privacy seriously".

There appears to be some punctuation missing from that statement - it's more like "we take your privacy - seriously".

Vic.

[Michael Dunn]

Hmm......

I' rather sorry I saw this!

[Phil_Evans]

Trumped again?

Are you sure this is not simply a mis-tagged Donald Trump story?

[Message From A Self-Destructing Turnip]

Re: Trumped again?

Trumpopterus decoraheinous?

[Marcus Fil]

Hey 'Shiny', is that you?

(One for the Michael McCloskey fans)

[Anonymous Coward]

Artist's rendition looks way off

Total length of 1.7m and head length of 1m does not agree with the drawing.