Britain’s 400-million-year giant reclassified as a Devonian scorpion apex predator
A new study reclassifies the Early Devonian arthropod Praearcturus gigas from a crustacean to a giant scorpion, based on high‑resolution imaging, digital reconstructions and CT scans of British fossils. It reveals a very large predator with up to 16 cm pedipalp claws, suggests an aquatic or amphibious lifestyle, and notes Brontoscorpio anglicus and Bennettarthra annwnensis are synonyms of Praearcturus gigas, expanding the fossil record and implying early scorpions occupied freshwater niches and top‑predator roles far earlier than previously thought.
