21 November 2007

Be Glad We Didn't Live in the Silurian Period

Just read this AP wire (edited for time allotted and to fit on your screen):

By THOMAS WAGNER Associated Press Writer

Nov 21st, 2007 | LONDON -- British scientists have stumbled across a fossilized claw, part of an ancient sea scorpion, that is of such large proportion it would make the entire creature the biggest bug ever.

How big? Bigger than you, and at 8 feet long as big as some Smart cars.

..NOTE: Love the comparison to a Smart car. I like Smart cars; I hate bugs...

The discovery in 390-million-year-old rocks suggests that spiders, insects, crabs and similar creatures were far larger in the past than previously thought, said Simon Braddy, a University of Bristol paleontologist and one of the study's three authors.

"We have known for some time that the fossil record yields monster millipedes, super-sized scorpions, colossal cockroaches, and jumbo dragonflies. But we never realized until now just how big some of these ancient creepy-crawlies were," he said.

...say it with me folks: GROSS!...

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