News Paleontology

The world’s largest scorpion lived 415 million years ago

The meter-long scorpion had 15-centimeter-long pincers

An illustration of a large, prehistoric scorpion with raised pincers and a curled segmented tail, standing on the bank of a river with sparse plants in the background.

At roughly a meter long, Praearcturus gigas (illustrated) may have been the largest scorpion to ever exist.

Franz Anthony

By Sahas Mehra

A fossil that has puzzled scientists for over 150 years is possibly the largest scorpion known to exist.

At about one meter long, the roughly 415-million-year-old Praearcturus gigas was four to five times the size of the largest modern scorpion species (Gigantometrus swammerdami), researchers report June 2 in Palaeontology.