What If The Jaekelopterus Rhenaniae Didn't Go Extinct
Hello and welcome back to Life’s Biggest Questions, I’m Ron McKenzie-Lefurgey.
Jaekelopterus Rhenaniae, or just Jaekelopterus for short, was a large arthropod living hundreds
of millions of years ago.
This giant, prehistoric scorpion was a terror in its day, and possibly even an apex predator
in many areas.
But what if this crazy creature did not go extinct, but continued to exist to this day?
Let’s explore.
If you want more What If videos, check out our “Biggest What Ifs” playlist on the
channel.
Now get ready, it’s time to ask the question: What if The Jaekelopterus Rhenaniae was Real?
First of all, Jaekelopterus Rhenaniae is a hell of a mouthful.
So let’s just call it the Jaekelopterus for sake of ease.
Also, pronunciation varies based on region, but I’ll be going with “Yeihkel-opterus”
in this video, since it was named after German palaeontologist, Otto Jaekel.
If you forget how to say it, just think of Jaegermeister, and you’ll be okay.
Jaekelopterus was a giant, predatory arthropod, believed to have lived in the Silurian, Devonian,
and Permian eras, roughly 500 million to 250 million years ago.
It is believed to be an ancestor of modern scorpions, and many believe it could be related
to several modern arachnids.
Incredibly, Jaekelopterus may well be the largest arthropod to ever appear on Earth.
(ka-liss-ur-a) A chelicera, or claw, was found in the Emsian Klerf Formation in Germany,
which was 36.4 centimetres long.
Based on the fact that it seemed to be missing a quarter of its length, and assuming it had
similar proportions to other giant arthropods, its body is believed to have been roughly
2.5 metres, or 8 feet, in length.
Jaekelopterus is believed to have been a marine creature, found in rivers and swamps, feeding
on pretty much anything it could get its claws on.
They used their powerful claws to hunt fish, other smaller scorpions, and even others of
the same species.
Yep, it looks like they were cannibals.
They had six legs, with the back two shaped like paddles.
Due to their size, thick exoskeleton, and powerful claws, it’s believed that Jaekelopterus
may have been an Apex Predator in its time.
It should be noted, however, that they did not have the stinger or venom associated with
modern scorpions.
So we’ve got that going for us, which is nice.
As fish around them became more dangerous, it's believed that these giant scorpions eventually
evolved to be better suited to hiding, becoming much smaller, eventually becoming the scorpions
we know today.
But what if this never happened?
What if these big bad beasties remained at their large size to this day?
Let's dive in.
First of all, of course, freshwater systems like lakes and rivers would be much more dangerous.
Considering they had evolved to be able to crack through the armour of their prey, armoured
fish, they would be highly dangerous to any human who happened upon one.
This idea would be rather terrifying for most people, especially kids, although it would
likely be used as a form of entertainment for others.
Whether one was daring one’s friends to go near the river, or pretending to see a
Jaekelopterus from behind them, it would serve as an effective aquatic boogeyman.
However, considering they likely would not be too numerous near populated areas, their
existence probably wouldn’t affect how we act too much, especially since they would
probably be hunted rather heavily for protection and food.
This brings up another point.
Despite the potential danger posed, this creature could be a wonderful solution to current food
problems.
There is a quickly rising movement called the Insect Protein Movement, which, as you
may have guessed, advocates the use of insect protein to replace more conventional meat
sources like cows and pigs.
This largely relies on crickets, but other arthropods like scorpions can be consumed
as well.
One problem with this is that insects are so small that you must eat a huge number of
them to get enough protein and calories for your needs.
But as we’ve learned, size would definitely not be a problem for Jaekelopterus.
This would be made even easier if we used selective breeding, in order to make them
better suited for farming.
We could breed them to maximize the meat produced, make them more docile, make them less dangerous…
most traits could be manipulated by selective breeding, in much the same way that they evolved
into other creatures in reality.
For more on this idea, check out our video entitled What if the Terror Bird Didn’t
Go Extinct?
Considering how useful they would be, it’s possible that they would be able to replace
a good deal of meat protein that normally would have been from cows or pigs, which would
be good both morally, and environmentally.
Of course, some would still have moral qualms about it, but given the significantly lower
mental capacity of arthropods, it would be an awful lot better than eating pigs.
Of course, it would be tough to give up bacon, and it’s likely that factory farming of
mammals would continue, but hopefully it would not be as common.
And now we return to our question: What If The Jaekelopterus Rhenaniae Didn't Go Extinct?
Well, they would, of course, be highly dangerous.
Larger than a human, with powerful claws, and a strong armoured carapace?
Sounds pretty terrifying.
However, they would also be pretty darn good to eat.
We’re already eating more and more insects nowadays, and the size of the Jaekelopterus
would make it an ideal candidate to add to the human diet.
With the use of selective breeding, we could make them more convenient and enjoyable to
eat, to the point where they may lower our consumption of beef and pork.
Which, while not for everyone, would be a welcome change to many people.
Thank you for watching Life’s Biggest Questions, I hope this was interesting and informative,
and maybe even inspired you to look into it further on your own.
If you liked this video, please thumbs up and subscribe to the channel down below.
While you’re down there, let me know if you would eat Jaekelopterus if you were given
the chance.
And if you’d like a challenge, try coming up with your own ideas of what would happen
if the Jaekelopterus was real.
Try out a thought experiment; it’s pretty fun.
Until next time, I’m Ron McKenzie-Lefurgey with Life’s Biggest Questions, wishing you
the best of luck, on your quest for answers.