🦂 ArthropodsPaleozoic before the PermianWell known
Meganeura
Meganeura monyi
It is an iconic example of the exceptional size attained by insects in Carboniferous ecosystems.
Image: Gaëlle Doitteau & Sandra DAILLIE · CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
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Characteristics
- Scientific name
- Meganeura monyi
- Period
- Late Carboniferous
- Lived
- 305–299 Ma (305 million years ago)
- Diet
- Carnivore
- Habitat
- Swamp, Airborne
- Length (estimate)
- 0.35 m
Description
Meganeura was a giant flying insect with two pairs of long, vein-reinforced wings. Its wingspan is often estimated at about 65–70 centimetres. It probably hunted other insects in Carboniferous swamps, where high oxygen levels may have supported larger body sizes. The relative contribution of oxygen compared with other ecological factors remains debated.
Habitat
Extensive, humid swamp forests.
Fossil sites
Commentry, Allier
Commentry Formation
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Contemporaries in the database
Sources: Meganeura