| Arthropleura | |
|---|---|
| |
| Biological information | |
| Time period : | Late Carboniferous period |
| Lifestyle : | Herbivore |
| In the series | |
| Brought back : | One male named Ben |
| Appearances : | "The Bug House" |
Arthropleura (name meaning "Jointed ribs") was a genus of giant herbivorous millipede. It grew to around 6 feet in length, due in part to the high oxygen levels of the Carboniferous period, which allowed this creature, as well as many other contemporary arthropods, to grow to such large sizes. Many fossilized footprints from Arthropleura can been found on the coast of Scotland. By current estimates, it is the largest known land invertebrate discovered to date, and as such, it would have had few predators.
Portrayal in the series[]
To be added...
In Prehistoric Park[]
"The Bug House"[]
Nigel first sees an Arthropleura standing on its tail. Nigel tries to catch it, but it escapes. Nigel sees what he thinks are the same tracks he saw on the Scottish island of Arron.
Nigel sees a forest fire so he carries the Pulmonoscorpius in the cage and sees a couple of creatures escaping from the fire. Nigel tripped on something, but it was no ordinary fallen log... It was another Arthropleura. Nigel realized that the giant centipede buried itself in the leaves cause it felt the heat, but the Arthropleura is going to be burned alive, unless Nigel can save it. Nigel leaves cause he'll be back with something. He comes out, pounces and wraps the Arthropleura and one of Nigel's crew members ties the Arthropleura so it won't escape. Nigel opens the portal and ties the jeep to a rope and a Titanosaur pulls the jeep back to the park. Bob than rewards the Titanosaur a rock, just the way how to say "thank you". Everyone hugs Nigel as he rescued 3 giant Carboniferous arthropods from the forest fire.
Back at the Insect House, Bob is checking up on the new arrivals. Bob sees the Pulmonoscorpius and the Meganeura and finally sees the Arthropleura named Ben. Bob said that the Arthropleura is actually a vegetarian, "I'm really rather fond of him. I thinks it's because he's big. He's not like any wiggly, little spider or something that creeps up behind you, like a proper animal."
Production[]
The head sculpt of the Arthropleura animatronic
A close-up of the individual ant-like mandible
Denver Fowler -the specialist researcher for Prehistoric Park- revealed exclusive behind-the-scenes production images of the life-size Arthropleura from its sculpting phase, on his Twitter.
The reference image used for sculpting the mandibles.
Since at the time there were few or no good Arthropleura fossils of the body, and none preserving the head, they choose to base the mandible shapes on those of ants.[1] Dr. Denver Fowler sent a reference image to the sculptors, showcasing the jagged mandibles and their cutting edges in detail. The lack of known fossils provided some level of artistic liberty for speculation to be employed, and the use of such scary mandibles was good for dramatic effect. the reasoning for choosing Ant mandibles as a basis was their ability to cut through tough plant matter.[2]
Trivia[]
- The Arthropluera in Prehistoric Park is similar to the one in Walking With Monsters.