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Chinese scientists unearth ancient underwater scorpion that was the size of a corgi
- The scorpion-like creature was about as large as a medium-sized lapdog and was an apex predator
- The sea creature used its forearms to catch molluscs and fish
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Imagine heading out for a snorkelling trip and coming upon a one-metre-long scorpion, tail extended over its head, pouncing on its preys and then lifting them with its large forearms to gobble them up.
If you lived in China hundreds of millions of years ago, this would not have been out of the realm of possibility, and it certainly would have been disconcerting because you would have been running into the apex predator of the era.
Chinese scientists unearthed this sea scorpion, called Terropterus xiushanensis, according to a research paper published in the latest issue of Science Bulletin.
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The ocean beast was about the size of a small corgi and probably lived in the oceans of the southern half of modern-day China during the Silurian Period, which was between 416 million and 443 million years ago.
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The scientists did not lock down a specific time frame when they believed the Terropterus lived.
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