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Fossil of 8-foot scorpion found
Last Modified: Tuesday, November 20, 2007 at 9:00 p.m.
British researchers said Tuesday that they have discovered an 18-inch-long fossilized claw of an ancient sea scorpion that would have been 8 feet long, making it the largest arthropod ever discovered.
"We knew the sea scorpions were among the largest creepy-crawlies ever, but we didn't realize just how big they could get," said paleontologist Simon Braddy of the University of Bristol.
Sea scorpions became extinct about 250 million years ago, but they were precursors of modern land-based scorpions.
Smaller varieties are common in the fossil record, and evidence suggests that they ventured onto land for brief forays.
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