News · 4 June 2026
Dog-sized scorpions roamed Britain 415 million years ago
Illustration: AI-generated for editorial context. Not photographic evidence.
Britain was formerly home to frighteningly large, dog-sized scorpions, an existence that modifies our knowledge of ancient life. Experts at the Natural History Museum confirmed Praearcturus gigas, which measured over a metre in length, as the largest scorpion species ever discovered. These formidable predators had pincers over 6.3 inches (16cm) long and roamed floodplains before trees existed.
Reported by Daily Mail · How we write briefs