Many people are scared when they see centipedes and lice… However, the fear they bring is nothing compared to the following scary prehistoric insects.

Shrimp-sea squid

This is a centipede , living in the sea 500 million years ago. It looks quite similar to shrimp and squid. This species can be up to 1 meter long, and has a mouth full of sharp, pointed teeth. Their food is small crustaceans.

Giant lice

With a length of 60cm, the giant louse is considered the largest trilobite known at this time. They lived in the Paleozoic era, 500 million years ago. They resemble a horseshoe crab, with a hard, thick shell, a multi-parted body and complex eyes. This species and some other trilobite species have extremely good adaptability. It survived another 300 million years before becoming extinct.

Giant dragonfly

Modern dragonflies may seem harmless, but their giant ancestors were not. M.permiana is the largest ancient insect that has ever existed: wings when spread are 60cm long, body length is 40cm. With this size, many scientists believe that their food must be frogs and squirrels. This species became extinct a few million years ago, when the atmosphere no longer had as much oxygen as before.

Giant slug

The largest species of slug today is the African land slug , with a body length of 18cm and a shell diameter of 9cm. But this size is nothing compared to the prehistoric slug C.gigantem, one of the largest slugs to ever exist. Their bodies are up to 60cm long. Paleontologists believe that this species of slug lived in the sea 50 million years ago.

Sea scorpion

Fossils of J.rhenaniae – a sea scorpion discovered in 2007. This is truly a monster sea scorpion with a length of up to 46cm. Luckily, this species became extinct 250 million years ago. This scorpion hunts fish and cannibals its own species in shallow waters near the shore.

Earth scorpion

P.kirktonennsis is a scorpion with a body length of up to 60cm. This species lived in the Devonian period, 400 million years ago. Its diet is likely arthropods and insects, although its venom is strong enough to kill some large animals.

Cameroceras

Cameroceras, a mollusk , is considered one of the largest marine killers that lived in the Paleozoic era. This creature can be up to 9 meters long. Cameroceras was perhaps the largest marine predator of the Paleozoic period. It lives in the deep sea and waits for prey. This species is almost blind and very lazy.

Giant centipede Euphoberia

Euphoberia is quite similar to today’s centipedes in shape and living habits. However, this species can grow up to nearly 1 meter in length and lives mainly in Europe and North America. We know that a small 25cm centipede can eat birds, snakes and bats, so what can Euphoberia do?

Scientists still do not know why this species became extinct.

Super giant centipede

Arthropleura is the ancestor of centipedes and millipedes. It can be up to 8 feet long and its body diameter can be up to several feet. It may be considered the largest invertebrate on Earth to date. They lived 300 million years ago. Despite its large body, this species only eats grass. Each of their legs is up to 76 cm long and the weight of large ones can be up to half a ton.

While paleontologists have yet to find a complete fossil of Arthropluera, fossils found in Nova Scotia, Scotland and the United States suggest that ancient centipedes may have rivaled the size of adults.

Jaekelopterus

The giant hybrid between a scorpion and a centipede lives in water: Jaekelopterus is 2.5 meters long and lives in fresh water. When an animal appears in front of it, it will stagger forward and tear its prey into pieces, then eat it in small pieces.