''Brontoscorpio'' is an

extinct Extinction is the termination of an organism by the death of its Endling, last member. A taxon may become Functional extinction, functionally extinct before the death of its last member if it loses the capacity to Reproduction, reproduce and ...

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

of possible

scorpion Scorpions are predatory arachnids of the Order (biology), order Scorpiones. They have eight legs and are easily recognized by a pair of Chela (organ), grasping pincers and a narrow, segmented tail, often carried in a characteristic forward cur ...

that lived in the

Early Devonian The Early Devonian is the first of three Epoch (geology), epochs comprising the Devonian period, corresponding to the Lower Devonian Series (stratigraphy), series. It lasted from and began with the Lochkovian Stage , which was followed by the Pr ...

. Remains of the only known species, ''Brontoscorpio anglicus'', were discovered in the St. Maughan's Formation,

Lochkovian The Lochkovian is one of three faunal stages in the Early Devonian Epoch. It lasted from 419.2 ± 3.2 million years ago to 410.8 ± 2.8 million years ago. It marked the beginning of the Devonian Period, and was followed by the Pragian Stage. It is ...

-aged (previously also considered as late

Silurian The Silurian ( ) is a geologic period and system spanning 23.5 million years from the end of the Ordovician Period, at million years ago ( Mya), to the beginning of the Devonian Period, Mya. The Silurian is the third and shortest period of t ...

) sandstone from Trimpley,

Worcestershire Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It is bordered by Shropshire, Staffordshire, and the West Midlands (county), West ...

Taxonomic history

The species was described on the basis of an incomplete single free finger of a right

pedipalp Pedipalps (commonly shortened to palps or palpi) are the secondary pair of forward appendages among Chelicerata, chelicerates – a group of arthropods including spiders, scorpions, horseshoe crabs, and sea spiders. The pedipalps are lateral to ...

(In31405), almost long. The complete animal is estimated to have been long for females and long for males, possibly making ''Brontoscorpio'' one of the largest known scorpions. The species is characterized by the presence of single condyle and row of thick tubercles on the pedipalp free finger. However, its identity as a scorpion should be treated with caution due to the fragmentary known material of ''Brontoscorpio'' and the fact that chelate appendages are also found in other groups of arthropods, and Braddy (2024) suggested that ''Brontoscorpio'' might represent a dactylus of a

crustacean Crustaceans (from Latin meaning: "those with shells" or "crusted ones") are invertebrate animals that constitute one group of arthropods that are traditionally a part of the subphylum Crustacea (), a large, diverse group of mainly aquatic arthrop ...

instead.

Ecology

The remains were found in terrestrial sediments, showing evidence of ''Brontoscorpio'' being terrestrial. ''Brontoscorpio'' may have gone ashore to escape predation, but due to its size, it would have had difficulty supporting its weight on land and likely lived a primarily aquatic life.

References

Prehistoric scorpion genera Devonian arachnids Lochkovian life Devonian England Fossils of England Fossil taxa described in 1972 Devonian arthropods of Europe Early Devonian animals of Europe Monotypic prehistoric arachnid genera {{Paleo-scorpion-stub