A fossil fragment found in south-west Sardinia years ago has allowed paleontologists to reconstruct in life-size the Arthropleura, a gigantic millipede whose faithful reproduction will be inaugurated on Saturday 15 February at 4 pm at the Martel Paleontological Museum in Carbonia, in the Great Serbariu Mine.
The cast and then the complete work were made by Daniel Zoboli, a paleontologist from Carbonia and an official at the University of Cagliari. The Arthropleura is the largest terrestrial invertebrate ever to appear on the planet . Some fossils of this “giant millipede” suggest that the largest specimens could exceed two meters.
It lived in the Paleozoic Era, between the Carboniferous and Permian periods (346-290 million years ago), a time when the continental masses were united in Pangea. Traces of this animal they have also been found in Sardinia.
In fact, a few years ago, paleontologists Daniel Zoboli and Gian Luigi Pillola of the University of Cagliari conducted a study describing the fossil of a fragment of the carapace of the “centipede” found in the Iglesias area and exhibited in the Martel display cases in Carbonia.
The students Francesca Fanni and Lorenzo Pinna collaborated in the realization, Matteo Diana participated in the installation with the support of Giuseppe Lai and Roberto Corona. The exhibition is made possible by the Consorzio sistema culturale Sardegna and with the endorsement of scientific director Gian Luigi Pillola.
