Palaeophonus
Encyclopedia
Palaeophonus is an extinct genus of scorpion
, one of the first forms known. Fossils have been found in Europe
. It was virtually identical to modern scorpions. Palaeophonus grew to a lengths of 2.5–3.5 in (6.4–8.9 ) and would have preyed upon small creatures that lived alongside it, including primitive springtail
s and millipede
s.
Scorpion
Scorpions are predatory arthropod animals of the order Scorpiones within the class Arachnida. They have eight legs and are easily recognized by the pair of grasping claws and the narrow, segmented tail, often carried in a characteristic forward curve over the back, ending with a venomous stinger...
, one of the first forms known. Fossils have been found in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
. It was virtually identical to modern scorpions. Palaeophonus grew to a lengths of 2.5–3.5 in (6.4–8.9 ) and would have preyed upon small creatures that lived alongside it, including primitive springtail
Springtail
Springtails form the largest of the three lineages of modern hexapods that are no longer considered insects...
s and millipede
Millipede
Millipedes are arthropods that have two pairs of legs per segment . Each segment that has two pairs of legs is a result of two single segments fused together as one...
s.