Millipedes 'as big as cars' once roamed Northern England, fossil find reveals

Phys Org ^ | 20 December 2021 | University of Cambridge

[Scarlett156]

There is a reconstruction of the original millipede and a great photo of the segment. The segment was probably molted off this giant millipede. That was about the size (not weight, but it was heavy, too) of a car.

I still like the sea scorpions, by the way.

[Steely Tom]

For some reason that headline made me instantly think of Monty Python.

[BusterDog]

I wish they would come back.

[metmom]

Considering how big cars are in England, that’s not saying much.

[ProtectOurFreedom]

Now that’s the stuff of nightmares!

[Scarlett156]

The Finns are probably breeding them for food somewhere in the northern waste.

[Scarlett156]

Yes, but in a very unpleasant and unwholesome way.

[Paladin2]

Global warming of major proportions now does seem to be existential risk...

[Giant bugs]

[Scarlett156]

If you ran over one with your car, it would likely flatten your tires.

[monkeyshine]

And now you know why Newcastle Brown Ale tastes so good.

[Scarlett156]

Millipedes might be easier and cheaper to raise than chickens.

[Scarlett156]

It’s the millipedes.

[SauronOfMordor]

Considering that insects do not have lungs, but must absorb oxygen thru tubes going through their bodies, it limits the size they can achieve.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Respiratory_system_of_insects

Either these millipedes had some very different structures, or the atmospheric oxygen level was very different those days.

[Scarlett156]

The article says the “carboniferous” period. There were at that time giant dragonflies and (my favorite) the giant sea scorpion. Also (according to the article) the british isles were much closer to the equator.

“The animal can be seen to have only existed in places that were once located at the Equator, such as Great Britain during the Carboniferous. Previous reconstructions have suggested that the animal lived in coal swamps, but this specimen showed Arthropleura preferred open woodland habitats near the coast.”

Giant millipedes. Galloping through the open woodlands.

[Army Air Corps]

This sounds like the premise for a Roger Corman film!

[Mouton]

Not sure my 300 winny would take it out.

[gitmo]

Good thing millipedes aren’t venomous. But they are poisonous. So don’t eat one of those giant millipedes.

[x]

English cars are pretty small, and were probably even smaller back in the Carboniferous period ...

[sphinx]

That’s the same question I had. Granted, it’s been over 40 years since I darkened the door of a biology classroom, but how the heck would a bug that big breathe?

[HighSierra5]

Gives new meaning for Roach Coach.