images

Arthropleura amidst Neuropteris

by

Walter B. Myers/Novapix

Reference

t-glb91-03901

Date

2012-04-29

A four foot long Arthropleura crawls amidst seed ferns from the genus Neuropteris in a Carboniferous forest 310 million years ago in what is today Scotland. Growing up to 8 feet long and 18 inches wide, Arthropleura was the largest known terrestrial arthropod of all time. A combination of a higher percentage of atmospheric oxygen and relatively few terrestrial predators may have enabled Arthropleura to evolve to such an enormous size. Despite its fierce appearance, Arthropleura is currently believed to have been a vegetarian.
In the shadows on the upper right are "roachoids," primitive ancestors of modern cockroaches.