Metre-long scorpions with six inch pincers once roamed Britain

Reconstruction of Praearcturus gigas, which once roamed the UK (Picture: Franz Anthony/Natural History Museum/Cover Images)

The largest scorpion ever to walk the Earth once roamed an unlikely place.

Measuring at one metre in length, the Praearcturus gigas was equipped with pincers more than 16cm long and roamed Britain 415million years ago.

Yes, that’s right.You could’ve once come face-to-face with the beast here in the UK.

The findings by the Natural History Museum and The University of Manchester, published in the journal Palaeontology, were made possible by studying fossils that have been housed in the museum’s collections for more than 150 years.

Researchers used modern analytical techniques and comparisons with newly described fossil species to conclude that Praearcturus was ...