Tuesday, October 26, 2021

Chinese scientists unearth ancient underwater scorpion that was the size of a corgi

Source Website: https://www.asiaone.com/china/chinese-scientists-unearth-ancient-underwater-scorpion-was-size-corgi
By Kevin McSpadden, South China Morning Post, 21 October 2021 at 02:05 pm


Chinese scientists unearthed an ancient sea scorpion that was about the size of a medium-sized dog.
PHOTO: Chinese scientists unearthed an ancient sea scorpion that was about the size of a medium-sized dog.
A handout photo, posted by South China Morning Post
Picture posted by Kevin McSpadden, South China Morning Post on 21 October 2021 at 02:05 pm
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj6QprI63GDdruFbzg3RnJ9XZBpUlCoJeaMX7-QoUxlnJFI3HaO1xO57fZJtepB9BxLnW2ytH3bmi0bxvsKXKyqgznbLGnXHhKOQBDU4rPEKAprqIcd_XB78jqiw9uixW9NZ_oBFnh8903-shDCShmSJQLLORdtxe_SM2qvjAhV6AnRUiXpoAUX-bG9=s800
https://www.asiaone.com/sites/default/files/styles/article_main_image/public/original_images/Oct2021/20211021_chinese_scmp.jpg?itok=LwHQ8D7F
https://www.asiaone.com/china/chinese-scientists-unearth-ancient-underwater-scorpion-was-size-corgi


Imagine heading out for a snorkelling trip and coming upon a one-metre-long scorpion, tail extended over its head, pouncing on its preys and then lifting them with its large forearms to gobble them up.

If you lived in China hundreds of millions of years ago , this would not have been out of the realm of possibility, and it certainly would have been disconcerting because you would have been running into the apex predator of the era.

Chinese scientists unearthed this sea scorpion, called Terropterus xiushanensis, according to a research paper published in the latest issue of Science Bulletin.


An artistic rendition of Terropterus xiushanensis, a one-metre-long sea scorpion that prowled the seas of what is now China hundreds of millions of years ago.
PHOTO: An artistic rendition of Terropterus xiushanensis, a one-metre-long sea scorpion that prowled the seas of what is now China hundreds of millions of years ago.
PHOTO: Yang Dinghua
Picture posted by Anuj Pant, The Independent on 20 October 2021 - A reconstruction of the ‘Terropterus xiushanensis’ sea scorpion (Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology)
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhwIXTmbr_4Geyld-4I8LFMsnbSFGOuEiWJPjUkDl3Tsz59cHZp30J1Emv8nE1Pj2HIo3CzlanX81XDT372GDB1wgYxw4PmjsggubF4AAsUS1h0qAtk_CDNMZ7Mf7EIwc7IE0yMPXqOkcO5hu4rCOecuzgQuvfpwalq46NjTiNNsFg4f7695T5yjuhk=s1620
https://static.independent.co.uk/2021/10/19/06/W020211009417671943767.jpg?width=1200&auto=webp&quality=75
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/south-china-dog-sized-scorpions-b1940838.html


The ocean beast was about the size of a small corgi and probably lived in the oceans of the southern half of modern-day China during the Silurian Period, which was between 416 million and 443 million years ago.

The scientists did not lock down a specific time frame when they believed the Terropterus lived.

The scorpion’s most striking feature was the sharp barbs extending from its forearms, which the authors of the study hypothesised were used to catch prey.

“Bearing such large spiny legs and probably a poisonous telson to catch and strike the prey, Terropterus is likely to have played an important role of top predators in the marine ecosystem during the Early Silurian when there were no large vertebrate competitors in South China,” the authors wrote in the study.

The fact that the forearms, called pedipalps, are used for hunting is an interesting evolutionary nugget because, in many arachnids, especially spiders, they are often used for reproduction. But, among arachnids, scorpions are a notable exception of pedipalps being used as predatory tools.


Photos of the sea scorpion fossils as well as a sketch of what scientists think it looked like.
PHOTO: Photos of the sea scorpion fossils as well as a sketch of what scientists think it looked like.
PHOTO: ScienceDirect
Picture posted by Kevin McSpadden, South China Morning Post on 21 October 2021 at 02:05 pm
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEirEcYqlL8ZkaxQJfViwibKLWPetlLy1Gl0SEUM8ao_4F1VzSMnb4XutpAP8Hybs2gKHaAqueppmrxLVSUxx1rUV82RHorPtjDDJArN4iSreXHnYzpZaIx8ebJPvj0JAJWH8UsAaQqPvO7rYoKItRbGiTHzYpmzviM80XHFyPAxG9uQmNTa1P0YmAPF=s1075
https://www.asiaone.com/sites/default/files/inline-images/seascorpion.jpg
https://www.asiaone.com/china/chinese-scientists-unearth-ancient-underwater-scorpion-was-size-corgi


The “poisonous telson” is reminiscent of modern scorpions, albeit it lacks the notable venom gland, according to artist renditions of the Terropterus.

While Terropterus was an apex predator during its time, it would be unlikely to pose much of a threat to humans if it existed today, preferring instead to feast on molluscs and fish.

The sea creature was a mixopterid, which were part of a group of extinct arthropods called eurypterids and were closely related to horseshoe crabs and modern arachnids, such as spiders and scorpions.


Terropterus xiushanensis, an enormous arthropod that stalked the seas off China’s coast around 435 million years ago.
PHOTO: Terropterus xiushanensis, an enormous arthropod that stalked the seas off China’s coast around 435 million years ago. In life, these aquatic predators would’ve been over 3-feet-long (1 meter). Our modern, small scorpions are terrifying enough. But a 3-foot one?
Picture posted by Jon D. B. on17 October 2021
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjf505fyFejIY4BoJJGzKeu5FdOv10zhkgGf4-oDr1PBnOUuQouI3ix6yaeHkrTzWm5LydTzgJNNgGfZsnrEvBUpG--0MkY9lxiyS60W8nHXRcQbdvISPBLvxGp6FU0BF1m6BJWEQJFiUDdSVUGP0OmSkXXCVfCTWiGdLfjxAQJJoFl1ITIt2zII7By=s1300
https://outsider.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/scientists-discover-fossil-giant-terrifying-sea-scorpion.jpg
https://outsider.com/outdoors/scientists-discover-fossil-giant-terrifying-sea-scorpion/


During the Silurian Period, Eurypterids, like our Terropterus , were the apex predators. The arthropods of this time were huge, with the largest known species being the Jaekelopterus rhenaniae , which is believed to have grown as large as 2.5 metres.

The Terropterus is the oldest known mixopterid in China and is thought to have lived around Gondwana, a supercontinent that formed around 600 million years ago and broke up approximately 180 million years ago.


An image shows where the Terropterus probably lived, and what its arms looked liked.
PHOTO: An image shows where the Terropterus probably lived, and what its arms looked liked.
PHOTO: ScienceDirect
Picture posted by Kevin McSpadden, South China Morning Post on 21 October 2021 at 02:05 pm
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEii6rGOPW046esEeGMBVb6SMw6YNQVC7Jv4whhhBqyAhq4_AN3Xn-RLFbcywUCLba2RlDj0cvyWnns1mJcZhfIfMsWIcUmg7obkttqiprKpyKf824tf3wLt1mJMAoSkItS3_9-2har5XAeu2jnPrauHn565LsoU5I6NjCcJ73cEX2nlgAqE4PcxeG8J=s1033
https://www.asiaone.com/sites/default/files/inline-images/imagesd.png
https://www.asiaone.com/china/chinese-scientists-unearth-ancient-underwater-scorpion-was-size-corgi


Two island-like formations off the coast of Gondwana eventually drifted together to form modern-day northern and southern China.

“The palaeogeographical distribution of mixopterids was rather limited until now and no examples of this group have been previously discovered in Gondwana,” the scientists wrote.


Eurypterids seen swimming in a group in a stock illustration. Researchers have discovered a new species of Eurypterid or sea scorpion which could have dominated the shallow seas of China around 440 million years ago.
PHOTO: Eurypterids seen swimming in a group in a stock illustration. Researchers have discovered a new species of Eurypterid or sea scorpion which could have dominated the shallow seas of China around 440 million years ago.
Photo from Aunt_Spray/getty
Picture posted by Robert Lea on 19 October 2021 at 4:19 am EDT
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEje_T3RVQGZazEXwzoAIxBxKFozD9gz4hVChgUXKiKr2QKftqbZ6ldobcCk-JIi4pqaJB26cmB5EplpOqaZxZw7udIgj5m13NZeRUxm20u6fLm78p7-cC1CqmLfyST4Ki-ixCN-0biCBt4viecMSc_n8FOgKatENv7q-x48CJY5QhkpVdwmYPFt-Igk=s2048
https://d.newsweek.com/en/full/1915485/eurypterids.jpg
https://www.newsweek.com/3-foot-scorpion-skewered-prey-spines-found-china-terropterus-xiushanensis-1640232


The paper is based on two separate sets of fossils, one from near Wuhan, in central China’s Hunan province, and the other from Xiushan, in southwest China’s Chongqing province.

The Silurian Period was part of the Paleozoic Era, a time of incredible evolutionary change. It was defined by shallow oceans, which allowed sunlight to penetrate and allowed for diverse ecosystems to flourish.


The fossil of a previously unknown 'sea scorpion' - an extinct monster-like predator that swam the seas some 467 million years ago - has been discovered in Iowa in the US.
PHOTO: The fossil of a previously unknown “sea scorpion” - an extinct monster-like predator that swam the seas some 467 million years ago - has been discovered in Iowa in the US. Measuring over 1.5 metres long, Pentecopterus is the oldest known species of eurypterid (sea scorpion) and is related to modern arachnids.
Picture posted by IANS on 02 September 2015 at 8:25 am IST
 
 
Reference
[1] Kevin McSpadden, South China Morning Post, Chinese scientists unearth ancient underwater scorpion that was the size of a corgi, posted on 21 October 2021 at 02:05 pm, https://www.asiaone.com/china/chinese-scientists-unearth-ancient-underwater-scorpion-was-size-corgi


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