Meganeura
Meganeura monyi
ok. 65 cmAdult individual · rekonstrukcja
wingspan
wingspan
między końcami rozłożonych skrzydełMeasurement: front · approximate side view
- Mass · szacunek
- No estimateSzacunki kopalne
Meganeura — size comparison
Meganeura was a huge Late Carboniferous insect known from French finds. It belonged to an ancient dragonflylike lineage rather than modern dragonfly species. It
Silhouette comparison
Wingspan
między końcami rozłożonych skrzydełReconstructed measurements · fossil estimates
WingspanScale in cm
020406080
approx. 65 cm
The scale compares the named dimensions. View direction and measurement points are given for each animal.
Meganeura — size comparison — facts and sources
Meganeura was a huge Late Carboniferous insect known from French finds. It belonged to an ancient dragonflylike lineage rather than modern dragonfly species. It probably hunted other arthropods. Ecology is inferred from wings, relatives’ anatomy and depositional environments rather than a direct record of all aerial behaviour.
Huge Carboniferous insects often feature in discussions of past oxygen levels. Explaining size nevertheless also requires evolutionary, resource and ecological constraints.