All 1 entries tagged Science

Imagine Meeting This Sweetie on a Walk

Writing about web page http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/edinburgh_and_east/8632427.stm

A cast is being made of tracks left by a two-metre long ancient animal in north east Fife.

The tracks were made by a giant six-legged water scorpion called Hibbertopterus as it crawled over damp sand about 330 million years ago.

It is the largest known walking trackway of a eurypterid or any invertebrate animal.

The tracks were discovered by Dr Martin Whyte from the University of Sheffield while he was out walking.

The animal, which is related to modern-day scorpions and horseshoe crabs, was about two metres long and about one metre wide.

The trackway, which is preserved in sandstone, consists of three rows of crescent shaped footprints on each side of a central groove.

The groove was made by the tail of the animal as it dragged over the sand.

David Morley : 21 Apr 2010 10:06 |  Tags: Natural World Science The Practice Of Poetry |  Comments (1) |  Close comments |  Report a problem