Arthropleura, the Earth's Largest Land Invertebrate

At 2 meters long, Arthropleura was the largest invertebrate ever to live on land.

It lived in Scotland and North America between 280 and 340 million years ago, during the Carboniferous period.

Arthropleura resembled a millipede, and had 30 pairs of legs.

Fossilized footprints show that it moved quickly along the floors of ancient forests, stretching its body to increase the length of its stride. Some scientists think it may have been able to move around underwater.

The body of Arthropleura was wide and flat, with heavy armor.

Its diet was omnivorous. It hunted for small animals and ate rotting leaves as well.

When Arthropleura lived on Earth, the oxygen content of the atmosphere was high, and there were no large vertebrate predators living on land. This enabled Arthropleura to evolve to a larger size than modern invertebrates.

At the beginning of the Permian period, the climate began drying out and rainforests were destroyed. This lowered the level of oxygen in the atmosphere, causing giant arthropods, such as Arthropleura, to become extinct.