A fossil celebrated for 25 years as the largest spider ever to have lived has been reclassified as a sea scorpion. Dubbed 'Big Meg' after its scientific name Megarachne servinei, the 300-million-year-old specimen from Argentina's San Luis province drew worldwide attention and inspired plaster casts sold online for hundreds of dollars each.
The correction came after a second Megarachne specimen turned up in the same Bajo de Veliz rock formation, allowing researchers a closer comparison. The creature is now identified as a eurypterid related to Woodwardopterus, a species known since 1959, with similar fossils recorded in Scotland and South Africa. The findings appeared in Biology Letters, published by Britain's Royal Society. Co-author Mario Huenicken, based in Anillaco, Argentina, was part of the original 1980 team and backs the reclassification.
Historical summary. TurkishPress restated this AFP wire report, first published in February 2005, in its own words.