''Brontoscorpio'' is an

extinct Extinction is the termination of a kind of organism or of a group of kinds (taxon), usually a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and ...

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

scorpion Scorpions are predatory arachnids of the order Scorpiones. They have eight legs, and are easily recognized by a pair of grasping pincers and a narrow, segmented tail, often carried in a characteristic forward curve over the back and always end ...

. Remains of the only known species, ''Brontoscorpio anglicus'', were discovered in the

St. Maughan's Formation The St. Maughan's Formation is a Formation (geology), geologic formation in Wales. It preserves fossils dating back to the Devonian Period (geology), period. See also * List of fossiliferous stratigraphic units in Wales References

* Geol ...

Lochkovian The Lochkovian is one of three faunal stages in the Early Devonian Epoch. It lasted from 419.2 ± 3.2 million years ago to 410.8 ± 2.8 million years ago. It marked the beginning of the Devonian Period, and was followed by the Pragian Stage. It i ...

-aged sandstone from

Trimpley Trimpley (grid reference ) is a hamlet in the parish of Kidderminster Foreign. It lies on the ridge of Shatterford Hill, north of Wribbenhall and east of Habberley. The village (such as it is) lies along Trimpley Green, a small common. At ...

Worcestershire Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a county in the West Midlands of England. The area that is now Worcestershire was absorbed into the unified Kingdom of England in 927, at which time it was constituted as a county (see His ...

. The species was described on the basis of an incomplete single free finger of a right

pedipalp Pedipalps (commonly shortened to palps or palpi) are the second pair of appendages of chelicerates – a group of arthropods including spiders, scorpions, horseshoe crabs, and sea spiders. The pedipalps are lateral to the chelicerae ("jaws") and ...

(In31405), almost long. The complete animal is estimated to have been long for females and long for males, making ''Brontoscorpio'' one of the largest known scorpions. The species is characterized by the presence of single condyle and row of thick tubercles on the pedipalp free finger.

Ecology

The remains were found in terrestrial sediments, showing evidence of ''Brontoscorpio'' being terrestrial. ''Brontoscorpio'' may have gone ashore to escape predation, but due to its size, it would have had difficulty supporting its weight on land and likely lived a primarily aquatic life.

Popular culture

''Brontoscorpio'' was featured in the first episode of the 2005

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...

television series ''

Walking with Monsters ''Walking with Monsters – Life Before Dinosaurs'', marketed as ''Before the Dinosaurs – Walking with Monsters'' in North America, is a 2005 three-part nature documentary television miniseries created by Impossible Pictures and produced by ...

.'' It is shown hunting ''

Cephalaspis ''Cephalaspis'' (from el, κεφαλή , 'head' and el, ἀσπίς , 'shield') is a possibly monotypic genus of extinct osteostracan agnathan vertebrate. It was a trout-sized detritivorous fish that lived in the early Devonian. Description ...

'' and being eaten by ''

Pterygotus ''Pterygotus'' is a genus of giant predatory eurypterid, a group of extinct aquatic arthropods. Fossils of ''Pterygotus'' have been discovered in deposits ranging in age from Middle Silurian to Late Devonian, and have been referred to several di ...

''.

References

Prehistoric scorpions Paleozoic arachnids Lochkovian life Devonian England Fossils of England Fossil taxa described in 1972 Devonian arthropods of Europe {{Paleo-scorpion-stub