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Ammon News - For nearly two centuries, scientists have tried to solve an enduring mystery about a giant millipede-like animal named Arthropleura that used its many legs to roam Earth more than 300 million years ago.

Now, two well-preserved fossils of the creature unearthed in France have finally revealed what Arthropleura’s head looked like, providing insights into how the giant arthropod lived.

Today, arthropods are a group that includes insects, crustaceans, arachnids such as spiders, and their relatives — and the extinct Arthropleura remains the largest known arthropod ever to live on the planet.

Scientists in Great Britain first found fossils of Arthropleura in 1854, with some adult specimens reaching 8.5 feet (2.6 meters) long. But none of the fossils included a head, which would help researchers determine key details about the creature, such as whether it was a predator similar to centipedes or an animal that merely fed off decaying organic material like millipedes.

In a quest to find the first complete head, researchers conducted an analysis of Arthropleura fossils belonging to two juvenile individuals uncovered in the 1970s in France. The findings were published October 9 in the journal Science Advances.

The odd tale of Arthropleura gained a new twist when the study team scanned the fossils, which are still trapped in stone.

The head of each animal showcases characteristics belonging to both millipedes and centipedes, which suggests that the two types of arthropods are more closely related than previously believed, according to the study authors.

“By combining the best available data from hundreds of genes from living species in this study, alongside the physical characteristics that allow us to place fossils like Arthropleura on evolutionary trees, we’ve managed to square this circle. Millipedes and centipedes are actually each other’s closest relative,” said study coauthor and paleontologist Dr. Greg Edgecombe, an expert in ancient invertebrates at London’s Natural History Museum, in a statement.

CNN