World News for Students of English

10-08-2022 15:00

Geologists at the Iowa Geological Survey discovered 150 pieces of fossils of a giant underwater scorpion about 18 metres under the upper Iowa River.

The giant underwater creature reigned the ocean almost half a billion years ago, predating even the dinosaurs. It grew up to 170 centimetres in length, had 12 claw arms sprouting from their heads and had a spiked tail.

The animal is called Pentecopterus and is part of the Eurypterid family of sea scorpions. Unlike modern land scorpions, its tail did not sting and was used more for balance.

There are more than 250 individual species of Eurypterid, but the majority of the discovered specimens are of the Eurypterus species.

Difficult words: reign (be dominant), predate (live before), sprout (grow), spiked (with spikes – sharp parts), species (a type of animal), specimen (an individual used as an example of its species).

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