Garypus titanius, the giant pseudoscorpion, is the largest species of pseudoscorpion—small, scorpion-looking creatures—in the world. Critically endangered, it is restricted to Boatswain Bird Island, a small rocky island off Ascension Island in the South Atlantic Ocean.[1] Pseudoscorpions are venomous arachnids (a group that includes spiders, ticks, and scorpions) and are generally tiny—around 3 mm (.1 in) long.[2] The giant pseudoscorpion, though, can grow to five times that size at 11 mm (.5 in).[3] It lives among seabird colonies, feeding mainly at night on smaller prey such as insects.[4] It belongs to the Garypidae family.
The giant pseudoscorpion is threatened by non-native insects and animals, such as mice. It has died out on the larger Ascension Island, a remote volcanic island and British overseas territory that was discovered in 1501.