Arthroplerua

Arthroplerua is an extinct genus of giant centipede. One is kept in The Bug House.

Appearance
Arthropleura was a relative of centipedes and millipedes. It grew to 3 metres in length. Arthropleura is the biggest land arthropod known to man.The reason why they were able to grow so big is because the oxygen level was 50% higher than it is today. The higher oxygen content in the atmosphere could support larger species whose circulatory system was not as efficient as those of mammals and other species. Arthropleura lived in the carboniferous forests, approximately 340-280 million years ago.

Behaviour
Although Arthropleura's diet consisted for the most parts of plants, arthropleura was carnivorous as a juvenile because they did not develop the ability to properly digest plants until they matured. Arthropleura was one of the first animals to eat plants. They had strong jaws, but it is unlikely that they were poisonous. Arthropleura had several predators, but its large size and thick armor offered substantial protection.

In Prehistoric Park
On site, Nigel Marven wades through a swamp. Something big moves about underwater and makes bubbles. Nigel hears something big moving about in undergrowth on land, and chases it, and finds an Arthropleura. It rears and confronts him. It is 10 feet long and has big dangerous-looking mandibles. Some modern millipedes (see Harpaphe haydeniana) can squirt cyanide, which smells of almonds, and Nigel fears that Arthropleura may also.

The lightning storm has started a forest fire, which is spreading fast towards them, and in the 35%-oxygen air vegetation is much more inflammable than in modern air. They run towards the jeep. Nigel trips over a big Arthropleura hidden in ground litter. It rears to confront him. Nigel, who was wanting to get away quickly, was not thankful for this delay, but says he must rescue it, else it will be burned alive. After a struggle, he and another man wrap it in a plastic sheet and tie red cord around it. They load everything on the jeep and set up the Time Portal just in front of the jeep, and manage to get back to the park.

Bob seems to take a liking to the Arthropleura and hand-feeds it ferns. He says that he likes it because "it isn't some kind of creepy-crawly bug, it's more like a proper animal."

The Bug House
Main article: Bug House

The Bug House is a concrete and brick structure with two adjoining rooms, each with a dome on its roof. They resemble the biomes used in the Eden Project and are presumably constructed in the same way, with tubular steel frames with hexagonal transparent panels made from a triple layer of thin UV-transparent ETFE film, inflated to create a large space between the two sides and trapping heat like double-glazed windows. (Glass is too heavy and potentially dangerous). The occupants include an Arthropleura, a Meganeura and a Pulmonoscorpius.

Trivia

 * It is the largest known land invertebrate of all time, and would have had few predators.
 * Some fossils have been found with lycopod fragments and pteridophyte spores in the gut and in associated coprolites, clearly documenting that this animal indeed fed on plants.