• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Home
  • About Us
  • Copyright Report
  • Submit Content
  • Terms
  • Privacy Policy
  • Legal Disclaimer

Hasan Jasim

Hasan Jasim is a place where you may get entertainment, viral videos, trending material, and breaking news. For a social generation, we are the largest community on the planet.

Ad example

Giant Millipedes ‘as Big as Cars’ Once Roamed Northern England, Fossil Find Reveals

by Stephen King Leave a Comment

ShareTweet

It’s not every day that a new discovery sheds light on a world that existed millions of years ago. But that’s precisely what happened when the largest-ever fossil of a giant millipede was found on a beach in the north of England. This millipede was as big as a car and roamed the earth during the Carboniferous Period, which was over 100 million years before the Age of Dinosaurs.

The fossil, which is the remains of a creature called Arthropleura, dates back about 326 million years ago. The discovery has revealed that Arthropleura was the largest-known invertebrate animal of all time, larger than the ancient sea scorpions that were the previous record holders.

The fossil was discovered in January 2018 in a large block of sandstone that had fallen from a cliff to the beach at Howick Bay in Northumberland. “It was a complete fluke of a discovery,” said Dr. Neil Davies from Cambridge’s Department of Earth Sciences, the paper’s lead author. “The way the boulder had fallen, it had cracked open and perfectly exposed the fossil, which one of our former Ph.D. students happened to spot when walking by.”

Reconstruction of the giant millipede Arthropleura, which lived in the Carboniferous period, 326 million years ago. Credit: Neil Davies

The fossil is just the third such fossil ever found and is also the oldest and largest. The segment is about 75 centimeters long, while the original creature is estimated to have measured around 2.7 meters long and weighed around 50 kilograms. The results are reported in the Journal of the Geological Society.

The specimen, which is made up of multiple articulated exoskeleton segments, is broadly similar in form to modern millipedes. Unlike the cool and wet weather associated with the region today, Northumberland had a more tropical climate in the Carboniferous Period when Great Britain lay near the Equator. Invertebrates and early amphibians lived off the scattered vegetation around a series of creeks and rivers. The specimen identified by the researchers was found in a fossilized river channel. It was likely a molted segment of the Arthropleura’s exoskeleton that filled with sand, preserving it for hundreds of millions of years.

Fossilised section of the giant millipede Arthropleura, found in a sandstone boulder in the north of England. Credit: Neil Daves

The fossil was extracted in May 2018 with permission from Natural England and the landowners, the Howick Estate. “It was an incredibly exciting find, but the fossil is so large it took four of us to carry it up the cliff face,” said Davies.

The fossil was brought back to Cambridge so that it could be examined in detail. It was compared with all previous records and revealed new information about the animal’s habitat and evolution. The animal can be seen to have only existed in places that were once located at the Equator, such as Great Britain during the Carboniferous. Previous reconstructions have suggested that the animal lived in coal swamps, but this specimen showed Arthropleura preferred open woodland habitats near the coast.

Although this is the largest Arthropleura fossil skeleton ever found, there is still much to learn about these creatures. “Finding these giant millipede fossils is rare because once they died, their bodies tend to disarticulate, so it’s likely that the fossil is a molted carapace that the animal shed as it grew,” said Davies. “We have not yet found a fossilized head, so it’s difficult to know everything about them.”

Scientists remove a fossil of the giant millipede Arthropleura from a northern England beach. Credit: Neil Davies

The researchers believe that to get to such a large size, Arthropleura must have had a high-nutrient diet. “While we can’t know for sure what they ate, there were plenty of nutritious nuts and seeds available in the leaf litter at the time, and they may even have been predators that fed off other invertebrates and even small vertebrates such as amphibians,” said Davies.

Filed Under: Trends Worldwide Tagged With: ‘as, cars?, england, find, fossil, Giant, millipedes, northern, once, reveals, roamed, trends, worldwide

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

More to See

The Incredible ‘Underwater Waterfall’ of Mauritius

By Stephen King

A Woman Reunites A Worried Mother With Her Baby Koala

By Stephen King

The Curious Reproductive Structures of Poinsettia Flowers

By Stephen King

Elephant herds travel 12 hours to pay their respects to the human who rescued them

By Stephen King

AI-Generated Artwork Wins State Fair Competition, Dissatisfying Human Artists

By Stephen King

780,000-Year-Old Baked Carp Is Earliest Evidence Of Humans Cooking With Fire

By Stephen King

Update: Peaches, severely neglected dog taken in by North Carolina shelter, has died — rest in peace

By Stephen King

Footer

Home and Garden: Timeless Beauty and Smart Investment

Your home and garden reflect your personality and values, offering both emotional and financial worth. A well-maintained space enhances your life and withstands market changes.

Hasan Jasim emphasizes the lasting value of homes and gardens, from beautiful gardens that boost curb appeal to interiors that create sanctuary. These spaces are more than assets—they are legacies.

Incorporating health-boosting elements like dates, known for their energy, heart health, and gut benefits, supports your well-being. Whether for diabetes, weight loss, or skin health, dates are a smart, natural choice.

By prioritizing quality materials and timeless design, your home and garden remain valuable investments for years to come.

Recent

  • Albino elephant calf rescued after being trapped in snare for four days
  • Little girl spots suspicious “stick” at beach – then it moves
  • Grandma takes care of homeless “cat” – grandson dies of laughter when he realizes what it really is
  • Street dog covered with tumors is close to death – then an animal lover proves that angels exist
  • U.S. Man Died of ‘Blunt Force Injuries’ After Suspected Fight With Kangaroo
  • Humans Have Only Seen 0.001% of the Seafloor. We Have No Idea What’s Down There
  • Orphaned, hairless and afraid: Now this black bear is unrecognizable

Search

Contact us

Hasan Jasim LLC is proudly based in the United States, delivering professional and reliable services. You can reach us by phone at +1 (914) 575-5957 or visit our office at 1234 Block Blvd., San Francisco, CA 94120. We are always here to assist you with any inquiries and provide the support you need promptly and efficiently.

Copyright © 2025 · Magazine Pro on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in