The World's Largest Scorpion: Praeacturus gigas

by Ermiyas Abiy, age 11

On average, scorpions are less than a foot long. However, scientists have found a large scorpion species from 415 million years ago, a species approximately three feet long with nine inch pincers. This species is called the Praeacturus gigas scorpion.

This scorpion lived during the Devonian period. Dr. Richard Howard from the Natural History Museum in London, England, stated that the study of the fossil fragment had been going on for a “very long time.” The fossils were first discovered in the 1870s, with more findings in the 1970s and 2010s.

After 150 years, scientists finally discovered that the fossils belonged to the Praeacturus gigas scorpion. Dr. Howard says that earlier scientists and studies could not find what animal the fossils belonged to due to the lack of technology and techniques that people have now. Initially, many people did not believe they belonged to a giant scorpion, as they only had drawings and descriptions of the fossils. With the help of new technology, such as CT scans and 3D modeling, along with better-preserved fossils, scientists verified that the fossils belonged to a "giant scorpion."

The previous largest scorpion was the Giant Forest Scorpion, which is about nine inches long and weighs about 56 grams. The Praeacturus gigas scorpion is still bigger. One rather large species is still alive, and the other giant species went extinct 415 million years ago. This recent discovery could mean the Praeacturus gigas scorpion is the new largest scorpion.

[Source: BBC News; Popular Science; Natural History Museum]