Researchers found an ancient scorpion fossil dating back approximately 125 million years in northeast China's Liaoning Province. The discovery, reported by China Daily, marks the first Mesozoic scorpion fossil found in the country, filling a gap in China's paleontological research.
The fossil has been named Jeholia longchengi after its discovery site in the Jehol Biota of Longcheng District in the city of Chaoyang. The Jehol Biota is celebrated for its exceptionally preserved fossils, including feathered dinosaurs, early birds, and plant fossils. It is regarded as "one of the most important paleontological discoveries of the 20th century," according to China Daily.
Discovered by researchers from the Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology under the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the fossil provides new insights into the Jehol Biota's food. The study of this discovery was published in the journal Science Bulletin. The fossil is now housed at the Fossil Valley Museum in Chaoyang.
Jeholia longchengi is large, measuring up to 10 centimeters in length, surpassing other known Mesozoic scorpion fossils. It features slender pedipalps, long legs, a pentagonal sternite, and an elongated venomous stinger.
Jeholia longchengi likely served as a mesopredator in the food chain by preying on insects and spiders. "If placed in today's environment, it might become a natural predator of many small animals, and could even hunt young small vertebrates," said Huang Diying, a researcher at the Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, according to China Daily. He added that Jeholia longchengi may also have served as prey for larger animals, such as early birds, mammals, and even dinosaurs.
"Scorpion fossils are not as common as people might think," Huang noted. Before the discovery of Jeholia longchengi, only three scorpion fossils had been found in China: one in east China's Shandong, one in Hubei in central China, and one in Inner Mongolia in the north of the country.
The article was written with the assistance of a news analysis system.