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The largest bug to ever live was about 2.6 meters long and had many legs.
有史以来最大的虫子长达2.6米，有很多条腿。
However, the look and shape of its head remained a mystery until now.
然而，直到现在，它头部的外观和形状仍然是一个谜。
The fossils of these creatures are often headless shells.
这种生物的化石通常是没有头的壳。
When bugs drop their shells, a process called shedding, they move out of the head opening, leaving behind their exoskeleton but very little of the head.
这种虫子脱掉自己的壳时，这一过程被称为脱壳，它会从头部的开口爬出去，留下外骨骼，但头部只留下了一小部分。
Recently, scientists solved that mystery by re-creating the creature’s head.
最近，科学家们重新创造了这种生物的头部，解开了谜团。
They were able to do this after studying complete and well-kept fossils of younger bugs.
在研究了保存完好的小虫子的化石后，他们揭开了谜团。
The researchers published the new findings on October 10 in Science Advances.
研究人员在10月10日的《科学进展》杂志上发表了这项新发现。
What did the heads look like?
头长什么样子？
The huge bug’s head was round with two short bell-shaped antennae. It had two eyes that stuck out like crab’s eyes.
这种巨大的虫子的头是圆的，有两个短的钟形触须。它有两只眼睛，像螃蟹的眼睛一样突出来。
Its mouth was fairly small and made for eating leaves and the outer covering of trees.
它的嘴很小，专门吃树叶和树的外层覆盖物。
Its name is Arthropleura. This bug belonged to a group of crabs, spiders and insects called arthropods.
它叫远古蜈蚣虫。这种虫子属于节肢动物，跟螃蟹、蜘蛛和昆虫是一类。
But the bug was much, much bigger. It could grow as big as 2.6 meters and weigh as much as 50 kilograms.
但这种虫子要大得多。它可以长到2.6米高，重达50公斤。
The co-writer of the study is Mickael Lheritier.
该研究的合著者是Mickael Lheritier。
He is a paleobiologist at the University Claude Bernard Lyon in Villeurbanne, France.
他是法国维尔勒班的克劳德·伯纳德·里昂大学的古生物学家。
He said, “We discovered that it had the body of a millipede, but head of a centipede."
他说：“我们发现它的身体像千足虫，但头像蜈蚣。”
This large Arthropleura may have been the biggest bug to ever live. Although, not all scientists agree.
这种巨大的远古蜈蚣虫可能是有史以来最大的虫子。不过，并非所有科学家都同意这一观点。
Some say Arthropleura may be a close second to an extinct giant sea scorpion.
有人说远古蜈蚣虫可能是仅次于已灭绝的巨型海蝎的物种。
Researchers in Europe and North America have been collecting pieces and footprints of the huge bugs since the late 1800s.
自19世纪末以来，欧洲和北美的研究人员一直在收集这种巨型虫子的碎片和脚印。
“We have been wanting to see what the head of this animal looked like for a really long time,” said James Lamsdell.
“很长一段时间以来，我们一直想看看这种动物的头是什么样子的，”詹姆斯·拉姆斯德尔说。
He is a paleobiologist at West Virginia University and was not involved in the study.
他是西弗吉尼亚大学的古生物学家，没有参与这项研究。
To produce a model of the head, researchers first used CT scans to study full-body fossils of younger bugs.
为了制作它的头部模型，研究人员首先使用CT扫描来研究小虫子的全身化石。
These fossils were found in a French coal field in the 1980s.
这些化石是20世纪80年代在法国的一个煤田发现的。
This method permitted researchers to look closely for “hidden details like bits of the head” still in the rock without hurting the fossil, Lamsdell said.
拉姆斯德尔说，这种方法让研究人员能在不损坏化石的情况下，仔细观察岩石中“隐藏的细节，如头部碎片”。
The fossils are easily broken. He added that when you dig in the rock to remove the fossil, you do not know what part of the fossil “may have been lost or damaged.”
这些化石很容易破碎。他补充说，在岩石中挖掘的时候，不知道哪一部分“可能已经丢失或损坏”。
The fossils of younger bugs only measured about 6 centimeters.
幼虫的化石只有6厘米长。
And it is possible they were a kind of Arthropleura that did not grow to a really large size.
它们很可能是还没有长大的远古蜈蚣虫。
But still, researchers said they are close enough to the huge Arthropleura to provide a picture of what adults looked like when they were alive 300 million years ago.
但是，研究人员表示，它们已经足够接近巨大的远古蜈蚣虫了，可以让我们看到3亿年前成虫活着的样子。
I’m Anna Matteo.
安娜·马特奥报道。
