Arthropleura was a genus of giant arthropod, related to
centipedes and millipedes that lived in North America
and Scotland during the Carboniferous period, between
about 340 and 280 million years ago.
Arthropleura is the largest known land invertebrate of all time, and
was between 1 and 8½ feet long (0.3 to 2.6 meters). It was able
to grow so large, because at the time it lived, there was a higher
proportion of oxygen in the air than today, and there was also few
terrestrial vertebrate carnivores.
Arthropleura is believed
to have mostly lived on land (fossil
tracks are relatively common), in a forest environment, but may also have been
capable of travelling under water. Some scientists even believe that it may have
returned to lakes or rivers in order to moult and grow a new shell.
No fossil mouth parts of
Arthropleura have ever been found, so it is not entirely clear what it ate.
It was once assumed to have been a carnivore (meat-eater), but the discovery of
fossilized pollen in the animal's
guts, has now led scientists to suggest it was probably a herbivore (plant-eater).
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