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Fossil found of giant car-sized insect

Giant Millipedes - Level 0

If you don't like insects, reading this will be difficult. A new fossil shows that a millipede was the biggest bug that ever lived. It was the size of a car. It was 2.7 metres long and weighed over 50kg. The word "millipede" means "one thousand legs," but not many millipedes have 1,000 feet. Seeing it would have been scary.

The scientists found the fossil on a beach by chance. They said it was "an incredibly exciting find". The fossil is 326 million years old. That's 100 million years older than the dinosaurs. The scientists are not sure what the millipede ate. It probably ate nuts and seeds. It may have eaten frogs and lizards, but not humans.

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Giant Millipedes - Level 1

If you dislike insects, reading this might be difficult. A fossil found in England shows that a giant millipede was the biggest bug that ever lived. It was the size of a car. The name "millipede" means "one thousand legs" in Latin, but not many millipedes have 1,000 feet. One species has 1,300 legs. Researchers said the millipede was 2.7 metres long and weighed over 50kg. Seeing it would have been scary. We would need a lot of insect spray to keep it away.

The scientists are from Cambridge University's department of earth sciences. They found the fossil on a beach by chance. It had fallen from a cliff. They said it was "an incredibly exciting find". The fossil is 326 million years old. It is 100 million years older than the dinosaurs. The millipede ate a lot. Scientists are not sure what it ate, but there were plenty of nuts and seeds available at that time. They may have eaten frogs and lizards, but not humans.

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Giant Millipedes - Level 2

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If you are afraid of insects, reading this might be difficult. A fossil found in England shows that the biggest bug that ever lived was the size of a car. The fossil is of a giant millipede. It could have had hundreds of legs. The name "millipede" means "one thousand legs" in Latin, but few species have 1,000 feet. One species has 1,300 legs. Fossil hunters said the fossil showed that the millipede was around 2.7 metres long and weighed over 50kg. Seeing this would have been scary. It would need a lot of insect spray to keep it away.

The scientists found the fossil by chance. Scientists at Cambridge University's department of earth sciences found a rock on the beach. It had fallen from a cliff. They said it was a lucky discovery and "an incredibly exciting find". They explained that the fossil is over 326 million years old. This is 100 million years before the dinosaurs. The millipede had a high-nutrient diet because it was so huge. The scientists are not sure what it ate, but there were plenty of nutritious nuts and seeds available at that time." They may also have eaten frogs and lizards, but not humans.

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11 online activities    |    8-page printable   (PDF)

Giant Millipedes - Level 3

If you are afraid of insects, this might be difficult reading. A fossil found on a beach in England shows that the biggest bug that ever lived was the size of a small car. The fossil is of a giant millipede. This monster creature could have had hundreds of legs. Although the name "millipede" means "one thousand legs" in Latin, few species actually have 1,000 feet. There is one species that can have 1,300 legs. The fossil hunters in England said what they found is "definitely the biggest bug that ever lived". They said the millipede was around 2.7 metres long and weighed over 50kg. This would have been a scary sight. It would need a huge amount of insect spray to keep it away.

The scientists found the fossil by chance. A lecturer at the University of Cambridge's department of earth sciences said they found a rock on the beach. It had recently fallen from a cliff. He said: "It was a complete fluke of a discovery. It was an incredibly exciting find." He explained that the fossil dates back over 326 million years. This was 100 million years before the Age of the Dinosaurs. The researchers believe that the millipede had a high-nutrient diet because it was so huge. They said: "While we can't know for sure what they ate, there were plenty of nutritious nuts and seeds available...at the time." They may also have eaten frogs and lizards, but not humans (or any of our ancient ancestors).

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