Megarachne
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| Megarachne servinei Fossil range: Pennsylvanian |
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 Megarachne
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| Megarachne servinei Hünicken, 1980 |
Megarachne servinei was an Upper Carboniferous (Pennsylvanian) eurypterid found near Córdoba, Argentina. Its leg span was 50 cm (20 inches)[citation needed]. When initially discovered it was incorrectly believed to be a giant spider, the biggest that ever existed. This caused serious error in scripting of the CGI television series Walking with Monsters. The series was already in production when the correct classification of Megarachne was made (in 2004[citation needed]), making it was too late to correct the error. So instead, the name was changed with the giant spider simply referred to as Mesothelae. Mesothelae is in fact a suborder of primitive spiders with segmented abdomens, and look nothing like what was visualised in the television series.
[edit] References
- Hünicken, M.A. (1980). A giant fossil spider (Megarachne servinei) from Bajo de Véliz, Upper Carboniferous, Argentina. Boletin de la Academia Nacional de Ciencias, Córdoba, Argentina 53: 317-341.
- Selden, P.A., Corronca, J.A. & Hünicken, M.A. (2005). The true identity of the supposed giant fossil spider Megarachne. Biology Letters 1: 44-48. doi:10.1098/rsbl.2004.0272
[edit] External links
- The Dinosaurs Of The Spider World: In Search Of Megarachne Servinei
- Re: Megarachne a eurypterid, not a spider
- Was Megarachne the world's largest spider? New information on fossilised South American giant
- Spider as big as a dog didn't exist
- Megarachne servinei (with image of cast of the fossil)
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