| Arthropleura Temporal range: Late Carboniferous–Early Permian |
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| Remaining footprints, Laggan Harbour, Isle of Arran, Scotland | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Subphylum: | Myriapoda |
| Class: | † Arthropleurida |
| Order: | † Arthropleuridea Waterlot, 1934 |
| Family: | † Arthropleuridae Zittel, 1848 |
| Genus: | † Arthropleura Jordan & Meyer, 1854 |
| Species | |
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Arthropleura (Greek for rib joint) was a 0.3–2.6 metre (1–8.5 feet) long relative of centipedes and millipedes, native to the Upper Carboniferous (340 to 280 million years ago) of what is now northeastern North America and Scotland. It is the largest known land invertebrate of all time, and would have had few predators.
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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 pteridophyte spores in the gut and in associated coprolites,[1] suggesting that the creature ate plants.
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.
Arthropleura evolved from crustacean-like ancestors earlier 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.[2]
Arthropleura was featured in the BBC series Walking With Monsters (2005) as well as in Prehistoric Park (2006) and First Life (2010). 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.