Overview
- A peer‑reviewed paper published in Palaeontology in June 2026 re‑examined fragmentary fossils from England and Wales and identified them as the scorpion Praearcturus gigas.
- Researchers measured the animal at about 1 metre long with pincers near 16 centimetres, making it the largest scorpion known in the fossil record.
- The team reached the conclusion by combining modern imaging (CT and X‑ray tomography), 3D modelling and comparison with better‑preserved material from other collections, including a 2015 Canadian sternum find.
- Anatomical features such as flap‑like epimera led authors to propose Praearcturus was at least partly aquatic, a tentative idea the paper frames as one possible explanation for its large size.
- The study resolves a century‑long taxonomic debate, underscores the research value of historic museum collections, and shifts when and how scientists think giant scorpions evolved, prompting further fossil searches and imaging work.