Gigantoscorpio

Name: Gigantoscorpio ‭(‬Giant scorpion‭)‬.
Phonetic: Ji-gan-toe-skor-pe-oh.
Named By: Leif Størmer‭ ‬-‭ ‬1963.
Classification: Arthropoda,‭ ‬Chelicerata,‭ ‬Arachnida,‭ ‬Scorpiones,‭ ‬Holosternina,‭ ‬Gigantoscorpionoidea,‭ ‬Gigantoscorpionidae.
Species: G.‭ ‬willsi‭ (‬type‭)‬.
Diet: Insectivore.
Size: Details unavailable.
Known locations: Scotland‭ ‬-‭ ‬Glencartholm Volcanic Beds Formation.
Time period: Viséan/Serpukhovian of the Carboniferous.
Fossil representation: Partial remains of at least two individuals.

       Gigantoscorpio is a genus of scorpion known to have lived in Scotland during the Carboniferous period.‭ ‬Because the genus is known only from partial remains,‭ ‬full details about its size and body proportions are currently unavailable.‭ ‬However,‭ ‬the genus has been occasionally estimated to have been as much as ninety centimetres long,‭ ‬which would make it big,‭ ‬even for the Carboniferous.‭ ‬During this period many arthropods similar to todays in form grew substantially bigger,‭ ‬with the main theory to explain this being that the atmosphere had a much higher oxygen content during the Carboniferous which allowed these kinds of animals to grow bigger.‭ ‬Many types of animal were known,‭ ‬and one genus of scorpion called Pulmonoscorpius also lived in Scotland at the same approximate time as Gigantoscorpio,‭ ‬and Pulmonoscorpius is thought to‭ ‬have grown up to‭ ‬70‭ ‬centimetres in length‭ (‬head to tip of the telson‭)‬.




Further reading
-‭ ‬Gigantoscorpio Willsi‭‬:‭ ‬A new scorpion from the Lower Carboniferous of Scotland and its associated preying microorganisms‭ ‬-‭ ‬Oslo University Press‭ ‬-‭ ‬Leif Størmer‭ ‬-‭ ‬1963.
-‭ ‬On some micro-organisms associated with the scorpion Gigantoscorpio Willsi Størmer‭ ‬-‭ ‬Oslo University Press‭ ‬-‭ ‬L.R.‭ ‬Moore‭ ‬-‭ ‬1963.

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