A image restores the look of newly discovered Jeholia longchengi gen. et sp. nov. Photo: Courtesy of the Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS)
Around 10 centimeters in length, the fossil of a type of scorpion species that existed around 125 million years ago has been discovered in Chifeng, North China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. The discovery marks the first Mesozoic scorpion fossil unearthed in the country.
Besides its scientific name
Jeholia longchengi gen. et sp. nov., the unearthed scorpion fossil has a simpler name "Longcheng Jehol Scorpion," because the species originated from the Jehol Biota. The fossil is currently preserved in the Longcheng district of Chaoyang, Liaoning Province. The Longcheng district is known as the birthplace of the Jehol Biota.
Describing the "Longcheng Jehol Scorpion" as a "natural predator of small animals," Huang Diying, the leading figure of this palaeontological project, told the Global Times that the newly found species has "slender pedipalps, long legs and an elongated venomous stinger."
"It is much larger than other known Mesozoic scorpions. It is considered as a secondary or tertiary consumer in the Jehol Biota food web and was a natural predator for many small animals and could even prey on the juveniles of small vertebrates," Huang emphasized. Huang is also a professor at the Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS).
Preserved in gray-yellow mudstone, the fossil of the "Longcheng Jehol Scorpion" was fairly complete, with only some parts of the species' anterior body missing.
Prior to the new discovery, only three scorpion fossils had been discovered in China.
Huang told the Global Times that scorpion fossils are "not as numerous as people might imagine."
The fossil of newly discovered Jeholia longchengi gen. et sp. nov. Photo: Courtesy of the Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS)
What makes the "Longcheng Jehol Scorpion" special is that it is the first Mesozoic period fossil ever found, which enriches the record of scorpion fossils in China and provides scientists with an opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of Mesozoic biodiversity and increased their ability to reconstruct the ecosystems of that era.
"I'd describe the new species as a 'key' that opens a door to the ancient world for us. Through the study of scorpion fossils from the Jehol Biota, we can also unlock more of the biological 'social circles' of that time," Huang Diying told the Global Times.
Other than the value of the "Longcheng Jehol Scorpion" itself, the species' "home" - the Early Cretaceous Jehol Biota - was also a treasure trove of ancient fossils. The Jehol Biota describes an ancient group of organisms that lived in East Asia around 200 million years ago. It hosts fossils such as feathered dinosaurs, diverse mammals and pterosaurs as well as a few crustacean species.
As a member of the Jehol Biota food web, the "Longcheng Jehol Scorpion" had frequent ecological interactions with other species in the Early Cretaceous terrestrial ecosystem.
The fossil is currently preserved and displayed at the Fossil Valley Museum located in Liaoning Province. Huang and his team's research has also been published in the academic journal Science Bulletin under the title "First Mesozoic scorpion from China and its ecological implications."
