Brontoscorpio
{{Short description|Extinct genus of scorpions}}
{{Speciesbox
| fossil_range = Lochkovian
{{fossil range|416|412.3}}
| image = 20210123 Brontoscorpio anglicus size estimation.png
| image_caption = Size estimation of Brontoscorpio anglicus, with the only evident region (free finger of right pedipalp) highlighted in dark grey
| genus = Brontoscorpio
| parent_authority = Kjellesvig-Waering, 1972
| species = anglicus
| authority = Kjellesvig-Waering, 1972
}}
Brontoscorpio is an extinct genus of possible scorpion that lived in the Early Devonian. Remains of the only known species, Brontoscorpio anglicus, were discovered in the St. Maughan's Formation,{{Cite web|title=Fossilworks: Brontoscorpio|url=https://paleobiodb.org/classic/checkTaxonInfo?taxon_no=286810|access-date=17 December 2021|website=fossilworks.org}}Dunlop, J. A., Penney, D. & Jekel, D. 2020. [https://wsc.nmbe.ch/resources/fossils/Fossils20.5.pdf A summary list of fossil spiders and their relatives]. In World Spider Catalog. Natural History Museum Bern, online at http://wsc.nmbe.ch , version 20.5 Lochkovian-aged (previously also considered as late Silurian) sandstone from Trimpley, Worcestershire.
Taxonomic history
The species was described on the basis of an incomplete single free finger of a right pedipalp (In31405), almost {{cvt|10|cm|in}} long.{{cite journal | first=Erik N. | last=Kjellesvig-Waering |year=1972 |title=Brontoscorpio anglicus: a gigantic Lower Paleozoic scorpion from central England |journal=Journal of Paleontology |volume=46 |issue=1 |pages=39–42 |jstor=1302906}}{{cite book |first=Andrew J. |last=Jeram |chapter=Phylogeny, classification and evolution of Silurian and Devonian scorpions |title=Proceedings of the 17th European Colloquium of Arachnology, Edinburgh 1997, 1998 |editor-first=Paul A. |editor-last=Selden |url=http://www.european-arachnology.org/proceedings/17th/3Jeram.pdf |access-date=2011-04-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110725121539/http://www.european-arachnology.org/proceedings/17th/3Jeram.pdf |archive-date=2011-07-25 |url-status=dead }} The complete animal is estimated to have been {{cvt|77.2|-|91.5|cm|ft|1}} long for females and {{cvt|86.2|-|94|cm|ft|1}} long for males, possibly 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. However, its identity as a scorpion should be treated with caution due to the fragmentary known material of Brontoscorpio and the fact that chelate appendages are also found in other groups of arthropods,{{Cite journal |last1=Dunlop |first1=Jason A. |last2=Garwood |first2=Russell J. |date=2024-12-06 |title=A review of fossil scorpion higher systematics |url=https://peerj.com/articles/18557/ |journal=PeerJ |language=en |volume=12 |pages=e18557 |doi=10.7717/peerj.18557 |doi-access=free |issn=2167-8359|pmc=11627080 }} and Braddy (2024) suggested that Brontoscorpio might represent a dactylus of a crustacean instead.{{Cite journal|last=Braddy |first=S. J. |title=Carcinosomatoid eurypterid palaeoecology and phylogeny: ichnology and palaeocommunities |year=2024 |journal=Neues Jahrbuch für Geologie und Paläontologie – Abhandlungen |volume=312 |issue=2 |pages=167–181 |doi=10.1127/njgpa/2024/1206 }}
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.{{Cite book |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/18991506 |title=The Biology of scorpions |date=1990 |publisher=Stanford University Press |others=Polis, Gary A., 1946- |isbn=0804712492 |location=Stanford, Calif. |oclc=18991506}}
References
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{{Taxonbar|from=Q137094}}
Category:Prehistoric scorpion genera
Category:Fossil taxa described in 1972
Category:Devonian arthropods of Europe
Category:Early Devonian animals of Europe
Category:Monotypic prehistoric arachnid genera
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