Researchers have found a never-before-seen species of scorpion that lived around 125 million years ago, findings published in the journal Science Bulletin revealed. 

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Researchers said in the report that the venomous scorpion was larger than many ancient and modern scorpion species. 

This scorpion was believed to have been a vital part of the food chain in its ancient ecosystem. It used to eat spiders, lizards and even small mammals. 

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The Mesozoic Era, also known as the Age of Reptiles, is a geologic era that spanned from about 252 million to 66 million years ago. It is divided into three periods: Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous. 

Researchers have said that this is just the fourth terrestrial scorpion fossil to be found in China and the first Mesozoic-era scorpion fossil found in the country. 

As quoted by Live Science, study co-author Diying Huang, a researcher at the Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology in China, said that most scorpions from the Mesozoic era are preserved in amber. 

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He further said that fossilised scorpions are much rarer because these arachnids live under rocks and branches, and hence, they are less likely to be trapped in sediment and fossilise. 

The fossil was discovered in northeastern China's Yixian Formation, a hotspot for Early Cretaceous fossils. The new species was given the name Jeholia longchengi by the scientists. 

"Longchengi" refers to the Longcheng district of Chaoyang, China, where the fossil is currently found, and "Jeholia" refers to the Jehol Biota, the environment of northeast China in the Early Cretaceous. 

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In a mail to Live Science, Huang said that J. longchengi was roughly 4 inches (10 centimetres) long, making it something of a giant of its time. He said, "Other Mesozoic scorpions are much smaller, most of them less than half [the size] of the new species." 

Fossil discovered in Brazil enhances understanding of the pre-dinosaur era 

Recently, a small carnivore vertebrate that lived more than 200 million years ago in the territory that is now South America is helping researchers understand life on Earth before dinosaurs. 

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Discovered in Paraiso do Sul, in southern Brazil, and described by Santa Maria University paleontologist Rodrigo Muller, the Retymaijychampsa beckerorum is among the oldest known examples of the Proterochampsia clade worldwide.

"The fact that it existed before the dinosaurs also helps to understand what ecosystems were like in the Middle Triassic, about 237 million years ago," Muller said.

With a skull estimated between 79.8 mm to 126.4 mm (4.98 inches), the Retymaijychampsa beckerorum is considered small-sized compared to most members of its clade. 

(With inputs from agencies)