Meganeura | |
Meaning: | Giant Nerves |
Creature type: | Odonatid insect |
Diet: |
Carnivore |
Time Period: | Carboniferous |
Locality: | Europe |
Family: | Meganeuridae |
Related species: | Tupus |
Meganeura was a monster dragonfly in the coal swamps of the Carboniferous. It was as large as an eagle, and fed on creatures smaller than itself.
Along with many other big bugs, Meganeura became extinct when the forests declined and the world became a drier place. The rise in oxygen levels of the Carboniferous was the reason bugs evolved bigger.