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A known treasure treasure trove of Early Cretaceous fossils has release up a never - before - catch species of scorpion that populate around 125 million year ago .
The venomous scorpion was big than many ancient — and mod — scorpion species . researcher trust it would ’ve been a fundamental specie in the food range of mountains , gobbling up spiders , lizards and even small mammal that lived in its ancient ecosystem .
Jeholia longchengiwas around 4 inches (10 cm) long and was a key species within the food chain of the Cretaceous ecosystem.
It is just the quaternary terrene scorpion fossil to be found inChinaand the first Mesozoic - earned run average scorpion fossil find in the country , researchers report Jan. 24 in the journalScience Bulletin .
Most Scorpio the Scorpion from theMesozoic era(252 million to 66 million years ago ) are preserved in amber . Fossilized scorpions are much rare because these arachnids live under rocks and branches , where they ’re less likely to be snare in sediment and fossilize , said study co - authorDiying Huang , a researcher at the Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology in China .
The scientist found the fogey in the Yixian Formation , a hotbed of Early Cretaceous fossils in northeastern China . The team named the new speciesJeholia longchengi . " Jeholia " refers to the Jehol Biota , the ecosystem of northeasterly China in the Early Cretaceous about 133 million to 120 million years ago , and " longchengi " refers to the Longcheng district of Chaoyang , China , where the fossil currently resides .
Fossilized scorpions are extremely rare.J. longchengiis only the fourth terrestrial species found in China.
J. longchengiwas roughly 4 inches ( 10 centimetre ) long , score it something of a giant of its clip . " Other Mesozoic scorpions are much small , most of them less than half [ the size ] of the new mintage , " Huang tell Live Science in an electronic mail .
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J. longchengihas a pentagonal consistence and rounded spiracle , which are the openings in its consistency that allowed it to breathe . These characteristics are similar to those found in some families of forward-looking - day scorpions that inhabit other parts of Asia . But unlike those family , J. longchengihas fairly long legs and slim pedipalps , or pincers , that lack spurs along a section called the patella .
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dodo of many other brute — including dinosaurs , birds , mammal and insects — have been found in the Jehol Biota , suggesting a complex food web . Larger mammal and dinosaur may have preyed uponJ. longchengi , while the scorpion ’s diet may have include insects , spiders , frogs and even small lizards or mammals , the researcher wrote in the study .
The Scorpio ’s mouthparts are n’t bear on in the fogey , though , so it ’s grueling to cognize for sure what they ate . Discoveries of additional dodo specimens could clear up up the species ' persona in the ecosystem and its place in the food web , the researchers compose .
" If place in today ’s environment , it might become a natural predator of many small beast , and could even hunt the young of little vertebrates , " Huang told China ’s State Department runXinhua tidings agency .
The fossil is being store at the Fossil Valley Museum in Chaoyang , China .
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