We in Telegram
Add news
March 2010 April 2010 May 2010 June 2010 July 2010
August 2010
September 2010 October 2010
November 2010
December 2010
January 2011
February 2011 March 2011 April 2011 May 2011 June 2011 July 2011 August 2011 September 2011 October 2011 November 2011 December 2011 January 2012 February 2012 March 2012 April 2012 May 2012 June 2012 July 2012 August 2012 September 2012 October 2012 November 2012 December 2012 January 2013 February 2013 March 2013 April 2013 May 2013 June 2013 July 2013 August 2013 September 2013 October 2013 November 2013 December 2013 January 2014 February 2014 March 2014 April 2014 May 2014 June 2014 July 2014 August 2014 September 2014 October 2014 November 2014 December 2014 January 2015 February 2015 March 2015 April 2015 May 2015 June 2015 July 2015 August 2015 September 2015 October 2015 November 2015 December 2015 January 2016 February 2016 March 2016 April 2016 May 2016 June 2016 July 2016 August 2016 September 2016 October 2016 November 2016 December 2016 January 2017 February 2017 March 2017 April 2017 May 2017 June 2017 July 2017 August 2017 September 2017 October 2017 November 2017 December 2017 January 2018 February 2018 March 2018 April 2018 May 2018 June 2018 July 2018 August 2018 September 2018 October 2018 November 2018 December 2018 January 2019 February 2019 March 2019 April 2019 May 2019 June 2019 July 2019 August 2019 September 2019 October 2019 November 2019 December 2019 January 2020 February 2020 March 2020 April 2020 May 2020 June 2020 July 2020 August 2020 September 2020 October 2020 November 2020 December 2020 January 2021 February 2021 March 2021 April 2021 May 2021 June 2021 July 2021 August 2021 September 2021 October 2021 November 2021 December 2021 January 2022 February 2022 March 2022 April 2022 May 2022 June 2022 July 2022 August 2022 September 2022 October 2022 November 2022 December 2022 January 2023 February 2023 March 2023 April 2023 May 2023 June 2023 July 2023 August 2023 September 2023 October 2023 November 2023 December 2023 January 2024 February 2024 March 2024 April 2024
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27
28
29
30
News Every Day |

How we discovered a rare giant millipede fossil on a beach - and why it matters

Ever stumbled upon a huge fossil on your holiday? That’s what happened to me and two friends in January 2018, on a beach in Howick in the north of England, while on a geological road-trip across England and Wales. It was pure fluke, but it turned out that we had discovered the 326 million-year-old remains of a millipede-like animal of huge proportions.

Our research suggests that the living creature would have been around 50cm in width and 2.5 metres in length – about as long as an alligator – so we could safely conclude that we had found a fossil of an Arthropleura, the largest invertebrate to have ever lived.

It is a creature often found in art and museum displays depicting Earth’s Carboniferous period. That was around 360 to 298 million years ago and is associated with abundant coal-producing rainforests. To put that into context, it’s over 100 million years before dinosaurs roamed the planet.

Until now, large body fossils of this ancient monster were rare. Our knowledge had relied on piecing together snippets of clues from several sites; isolated fragments of legs and exoskeletons that clearly belonged to giant arthropods, or rare near-complete specimens of juvenile Arthropleura that shed light on the animal’s body plan, despite being miniature examples no more than 5cm in length.

Perhaps most significantly, the most common evidence that Carboniferous Earth was crawling with giant millipede-like animals comes from trace fossils. They are the patterns in sedimentary rocks that were left by animals moving through or over the sediment. In the case of Arthropleura trace fossils, Carboniferous sandstones from Utah to Ukraine are frequently criss-crossed by staccato tramlines that attest to huge arthropods, with many, many legs, leaving their footprints behind as they traversed long lost beaches and riverbeds. Trackways over 50cm wide are relatively common, despite body fossils approaching these dimensions never having been discovered.

Stumbling upon the giant fossil

The story of our discovery began when my colleagues and I rolled out the geological map of England and Wales and plotted a route that would take us through millions of years of Earth’s history over two weeks, going back to 560 million years ago.

It meant a back and forth journey, looping 3,000km across the country, with the intent of stopping at coastal cliffs, roadcuts, abandoned quarries and mountainsides. The trip was primarily social, but we were keeping our eyes open for geological stories to explore further – we don’t accept the sometimes whispered myth that the geology of Britain is “done” and there is no more left to discover.

One of our stops took us to a beach at Howick in Northumberland, about 40km south of the Scottish border.

After wandering south along the shore during the afternoon, we were heading back for the evening because dusk was settling in. Just before we clambered back up the cliff, one of my friends spotted a recently fallen block of sandstone. It had split down the middle, by chance revealing an enigmatic fossil on both sides of the broken rock – a 76cm long collection of 12-14 segments. We took as many photos and notes as possible and contacted a number of Carboniferous arthropod experts worldwide. They all confirmed it had to be Arthropleura.

So, with permission from Natural England and the landowners, the Howick Estate, we returned to the site to collect the fossil in May 2018.


Read more: Fish bones and water lilies help pin down the month the dinosaurs died


The collection of the fossil involved taking both a sledgehammer and pneumatic chisel to the fallen block, and we were able to excavate one slab of the fossil completely. The second slab unfortunately broke apart as we removed it, meaning that the slab is now a jigsaw puzzle of about ten pieces. But even this proved serendipitous as it let us see a cross-section through the fossil.

Why it’s important

The fossil, while incomplete, is 76cm by 36cm and weighs over 80Kg, so it takes the crown of the largest arthropod fossil from a slightly smaller Ordovician trilobite specimen (an extinct group of marine arthropods from Canada).

It’s also the largest Arthropleura fossil ever found – prior to our discovery, the largest semi-complete fossil, on display in the Senckenberg Museum in Frankfurt, only reaches a modest 23cm in width.

More importantly, using estimates of width to length ratio obtained from smaller and more complete specimens of Arthropleura, we could estimate that in life it again pinches the record for the largest arthropod to have ever lived, this time off a Devonian sea scorpion from Germany.

The discovery adds to the global record of Arthropleura evidence from 60 sites in 13 different countries. Collectively, these specimens all occur in locations very close to the ancient Equator – which at that time ran through North America and across the UK and Europe to the Ukraine – suggesting that the genus had a very restricted geographic range.

Significantly, the Howick specimen is among the oldest evidence for giant Arthropleura and pre-dates any major rises in Carboniferous atmospheric oxygen – previously suggested to account for arthropod growing so large. This means that the organism may have been so big simply due to environmental factors such as an abundance of food (for example, woody plant debris) and a lack of competition from vertebrates.

The sedimentary geology of the fossil is also interesting – as with many known trace fossils, the Howick Arthropleura clearly wasn’t living in a Carboniferous coal swamp, but rather in an open wooded habitat on a sandy coastline traversed by small rivers.

So, our discovery helps to refine the picture of these giant arthropods.

Yet the most significant aspect of all is probably the discovery itself. It shows that it is still possible that the world’s largest arthropod fossil can be discovered just sitting on a beach, in a well-populated part of the world which has been trawled by geologists, tourists and miners for almost 200 years.

An ancient alligator-length millipede is wonderful in itself. But this discovery suggests that there are a lot more unexpected and spectacular finds still to be discovered from Earth’s geological record, so long as people keep looking.

The Conversation

Neil Davies does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

Москва

Почти 800 воскресенцев приняли участие в патриотической акции «Диктант Победы»

NYU Hospital on Long Island performs miraculous surgery

Laura Dern Is the Star of Roger Vivier’s New Short Movie

Ryan Poles Needs A Last-Minute Review Of His Quarterback Scouting Notes To Ensure Nothing Is Missed

Ramon Cardenas aims to cement his contender status agains Jesus Ramirez Rubio tonight

Ria.city






Read also

Love rat Ryan Giggs was slammed as a ‘liar, womaniser & cheat’ by OWN lawyer – has he finally settled with Zara Charles?

I won £10k a month for 30 years in National Lottery… I was almost left with nothing when machine made ‘funny noise’

OJ Simpson’s cause of death revealed

News, articles, comments, with a minute-by-minute update, now on Today24.pro

News Every Day

Paige Spiranac puts on busty display in plunging top as she lists the ‘things that drive me crazy’

Today24.pro — latest news 24/7. You can add your news instantly now — here


News Every Day

Laura Dern Is the Star of Roger Vivier’s New Short Movie



Sports today


Новости тенниса
Елена Рыбакина

«Был риск завершить борьбу еще в первом матче». В России оценили победу Рыбакиной в Штутгарте



Спорт в России и мире
Москва

РОСГВАРДИЯ ОБЕСПЕЧИЛА ПРАВОПОРЯДОК ВО ВРЕМЯ ФУТБОЛЬНОГО МАТЧА «ЦСКА» - «СПАРТАК» В МОСКВЕ



All sports news today





Sports in Russia today

Москва

Росгвардия обеспечила правопорядок во время футбольного матча «ЦСКА» - «Спартак» в Москве


Новости России

Game News

Для мобильного шутера Nebula Rangers проходит бета-тест на Android


Russian.city


Game News

Шапки женские на Wildberries — скидки от 398 руб. (на новые оттенки)


Губернаторы России
#123ru.net

Прояснение причин СВО. План улучшения отношений. И дополнительно: "При чём здесь Ленин?"


Священник Снегирев назвал четыре вещи, которые необходимо сделать на Пасху

Зеленые облигации Москвы признаны отвечающими стандартам зеленого финансирования

Шапки женские вязаные на Wildberries, 2024 — новый цвет от 392 руб. (модель 466)

Шапки женские на Wildberries — скидки от 398 руб. (на новые оттенки)


Своим трудом: Келли Осборн отрицает, что похудела с помощью препаратов

Мацуев — о московском дерби: Бездарное зрелище. Уснул на 15-й минуте

Тимати показал идеальный пресс: горячее видео от рэпера

Сергей Трофимов выступит с летним концертом в Зеленом Театре ВДНХ


Медведев остался лучшим среди россиян в обновлённом рейтинге ATP, Рублёв — восьмой

Линетт сыграет против Соболенко во втором круге турнира WTA в Мадриде

WTA озвучила Елене Рыбакиной условия для становления второй ракеткой мира

Соболенко: я предпочитаю смотреть мужской теннис, а не женский



Жёсткие экологические требования решат инновационные энерготехнологии

Шапки женские вязаные на Wildberries, 2024 — новый цвет от 392 руб. (модель 466)

Новый транспортный хаб начали строить Казахстан, РФ и Китай

Шапки женские на Wildberries — скидки от 398 руб. (на новые оттенки)


Токсиколог Кутушов рассказал почему возникает похмелье

Компания ICDMC стала победителем престижной премии в сфере ЗОЖ – Green Awards 2023/24

Бизнес-астролог Александра Секачева дала интервью журналу “Фокус внимания”

Гол Мартыновича помог «Рубину» сенсационно обыграть футболистов «Зенита»


Глава Ленинского округа объявил о завершении отопительного сезона

Малоинвазивный метод удаления грыж внедрили в Солнечногорске

В Московской области сотрудники Росгвардии задержали подозреваемого в краже дорогостоящего электрооборудования

Руководитель Объединения многодетных семей города Москвы Наталья Карпович: Повышение рождаемости — общая задача государства и общества



Путин в России и мире






Персональные новости Russian.city
Ирина Серегина

Сотрудники Росгвардии Московской области написали «Диктант Победы»



News Every Day

Laura Dern Is the Star of Roger Vivier’s New Short Movie




Friends of Today24

Музыкальные новости

Персональные новости