Paleo Profiles: Archaeopteris

Not to be confused with the famous Archaeopteryx this week we are looking at Archaeopteris. While Archaeopteryx is known as being the fossil showing the connection between birds and dinosaurs, Archaeopteris is known for being one of the first trees in natural history. Trees make up so much of the planet’s ecosystems today and they

Paleo Profiles: Arthropleura

If you took a walk in Scotland 300 million years ago you would be in for quite a surprise. Instead of the lochs and glens you would see tropical rainforests, thick swamps, and strange scaly trees. If you were lucky, you would find the largest terrestrial animal in the local area, but this wasn’t a

Paleo Profiles: Westlothiana

Over 300 million years ago Scotland was very different from today. The peat lands, rolling hills, dark forests, roaring seas, sleet in the winter, and bright summers were non-existent. Instead, tropical swamps and forests stood where limestone quarries and roaming hills now stand. It was in these forests and swamps of Scotland that one of

Paleo Profiles: Meganeura

Meganeura monyi A common feature of media depicting prehistoric environments is the presence of giant insects or other arthropods. In reality, the truly giant invertebrates were not as common as they are often depicted, but that does not mean that they did not exist. They exist even today – the goliath beetles can reach over