Giant invertebrates – Meganeura and Arthropleura

The Carboniferous was a time of giant land invertebrates, and Arthropleura, a gigantic relative of millipedes and centipedes, was the largest of them all. In spite of its fearsome appearance, it was probably a plant-eater but may have occasionally eaten small vertebrates and insects.

Flying above, the massive dragonfly Meganeura hunted insects and other small animals on the wing. The moist, oxygen-rich atmosphere of the Carboniferous made respiration easier for insects, allowing them to grow very large, and Meganeura was one of the largest flying insects.