Giant bug clue on climate change as scientists stumble 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” at 2.5m or 8 feet long. The discovery in Carboniferous 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. The research found that the sea scorpion was almost 0.5 m (20in) longer than the previous estimates of the largest one. Braddy’s partner, palaeontologist Markus Poschmann, found the claw fossil several years ago in a quarry near Prum, Germany, reported CNN. The BBC report included the comment that the species existed during a period in Earth history when oxygen levels in the atmosphere were much higher than today. And it was those elevated levels, some palaeo-scientists believe, that may have helped drive the super-sized bodies of many of the invertebrates that existed at that time – monster millipedes, huge cockroaches, and jumbo dragonflies.
Editorial Comment: Not surprising really is it? We are sure such a better atmosphere was one reason for the lengthy lifespans recorded in Genesis. This new find only adds to the increasingly abundant evidence we have been sharing in our Giants program for years, that this world has done the opposite of evolve from a cosmic blob of hydrogen gas. Even the CO2 was higher and the plants loved it. Ask Creation Research to a venue near you and see the rest of the story. (Ref. Size, life span, devolution.)
Evidence News 28 November 2007