Scientists Find Fossil of Enormous Bug [View All]

[Akoto]

Scientists Find Fossil of Enormous Bug

By THOMAS WAGNER – 1 day ago

LONDON (AP) — This was a bug you couldn't swat and definitely couldn't step on. 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.

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.

"This is an amazing discovery," he said Tuesday.

Link: http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5gQ9X4-OozXU0E52gi-xaqJR9WsEAD8T1QCIO0