How joyous be Arthropleura,
the largest ever bug
to roam the Earth with its crura
and walk that grassy rug.
The swamps of Carboniferous
are where it made its home
its diet was herbivorous:
decaying plants and loam.
The scale trees made a canopy
the ground was waterlogged.
And through this lush locality,
the Arthropleura jogged
But soon the forests cooled and dried
the changes took their toll,
large bugs and many plants then died,
now nothing more than coal.
If grief in you this tale does cause
than further must you read,
for Arthropleura’s cousin was
the modern millipede!