Arthropleura

Taxobox
name = "Arthropleura"


image_width = 240px
image_caption = A model of "Arthropleura" at the Field Museum in Chicago
fossil_range = Late Carboniferous - Early Permian
regnum = Animalia
phylum = Arthropoda
subphylum = Myriapoda
classis = Arthropleuridea
ordo = Arthropleurida
familia = Arthropleuridae
genus = "Arthropleura"
subdivision_ranks = Species
subdivision =
*"Arthropleura armata"
*"Arthropleura moyseyii"

"Arthropleura" was a 0.3–2.6 metre (1–8.5 feet) long relative of centipedes and millipedes, native to the Upper Carboniferous (340-280 million years ago) of what is now northeastern North America and Scotland. It was the largest known land invertebrate of all time, and would have had few predators.

Description and behavior

What "Arthropleura" ate is a matter of debate among scientists, as none of the fossils have the mouth preserved. However, it is reasonably certain that it would have had a sharp and powerful set of jaws. Based on this assumption, it used to be thought that "Arthropleura" was carnivorous, but recently discovered fossils have been found with pollen in the gut,Fact|date=November 2007 suggesting that the creature ate plants. It is possible that the smaller "Arthropleura" species were vegetarian, while the largest ones were omnivorous, using their jaws to tackle vegetation, as well as to hunt small animals and insects. It is estimated that the average "Arthropleura" could have eaten its way through a ton of vegetation a year.

Fossilized footprints from "Arthropleura" have been found in many places. These appear as long, parallel rows of small prints, which show that it moved quickly across the forest floor, swerving to avoid obstacles, such as trees and rocks. When moving at speed, its body would stretch and become longer, giving it a greater stride length and thus allowing it to move faster.

As it moved about, "Arthropleura" would have brushed against many different types of plant, and may have helped the forest reproduce by moving pollen or spores about the place. It is also thought that "Arthropleura" was capable of travelling under water, and that it may have returned to lakes and rivers in order to moult its shell. This would have made it vulnerable to attack by large fish and amphibians. On land an adult "Arthropleura" would have had few enemies.

"Arthropleura" evolved from crustacean-like ancestors in the Carboniferous, and was able to grow larger than modern arthropods, partly because of the high percentage of oxygen in Earth's atmosphere at that time, and because of the lack of large terrestrial vertebrate predators. Fossil tracks of an arthropod dating back to the Silurian are sometimes attributed to either "Arthropleura", or a Silurian- to Early-Devonian millipede called "Eoarthropleura". "Arthropleura" became extinct at the start of the Permian period, when the moist climate began drying out, destroying the rainforests of the Carboniferous, and allowing the desertification characteristic of the Permian. Because of this, oxygen levels in the atmosphere began to decline to more modest levels. None of the giant arthropods could survive the new dry, lower-oxygen climate. Its tracks have the ichnotaxon name "Diplichnites cuithensis" [cite journal |quotes=no |url=http://gsa.confex.com/gsa/2004AM/finalprogram/abstract_76052.htm |year=2004 |title=The giant "Arthropleura" trackway "Diplichnites cuithensis" from the Cutler Group (Upper Pennsylvanian) of New Mexico |author=Adrian P. Hunt, Spencer G. Lucas, Allan Lerner and Joseph T. Hannibal |journal=Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs |volume=36 |issue=5 |pages=66]

In popular culture

* "Arthropleura" was featured in the BBC series "Walking With Monsters" (2005) as well as in "Prehistoric Park" (2006). It was also used as the central time-shifted creature in the second episode of the ITV series "Primeval" (2007), although the production increased the "Arthropleura" to six meters in length, and gave it a venomous bite.

* In the 2005 film King Kong, there is a species of millipede on Skull island that resembles Arthropleura.

External links

*cite web |url=http://www.life.umd.edu/entm/shultzlab/vtab/arthropleuridea.htm |title=Arthropleuridea |publisher=University of Maryland Department of Entomology(broken)
* [http://doi.wiley.com/10.1002/(SICI)1099-1034(199709)32:3%3C197::AID-GJ739%3E3.0.CO;2-6] "Exceptionally preserved fossils from Bickershaw, Lancashire (Upper Carboniferous, Westphalian A (Langsettian))"
* [http://www.davidlitchfield.com/arthropleura.htm] Arthropleura tracks found at Crail, Fife, in Scotland.

References

*2005: BBC Television Series "Walking with Monsters" by Tim Haines
*2006: ITV Television Series "Prehistoric Park" Episode 5
*2006: The Complete Guide to Prehistoric Life. Pg. 37. Canada: Firefly Books Ltd.
*2007: ITV Television Series "Primeval" Episode 2 by Impossible Pictures