https://bigthink.com/matt-davis/earth-wa...al-insects
EXCERPT: . . . Insectophobes can celebrate the fact that humanity’s time on this planet mercifully came a full 360 million years after the period when Earth was covered in Meganeura, predatory dragonflies with two-foot-long wingspans. At the same time, the “lung scorpion,” a scorpion the size of a skateboard, scurried around beneath these giant dragonflies, accompanied by the eight-foot-long Arthropleura millipede. This terrible time on planet Earth is known as the Carboniferous period.
[...] Around 300 million years ago, however, Earth was saturated with oxygen. Today’s atmosphere is 21% oxygen, while the Carboniferous period had an atmosphere that was 35% oxygen. With this overabundance, insects’ respiratory systems could support larger bodies than what we think of as typical.
[...] Today, you might consider an insect “big” if it’s the length of your finger. About 150 million years ago, bugs suddenly began to shrink back down. This also coincides nicely with the appearance of the first birds, whose prey of choice would have been the ubiquitous, slow-moving and protein-rich bugs. Under assault from flying predators, being large was no longer an advantage, and insect sizes were reduced to a mere still-way-too-big rather than gargantuan...
MORE: https://bigthink.com/matt-davis/earth-wa...al-insects
EXCERPT: . . . Insectophobes can celebrate the fact that humanity’s time on this planet mercifully came a full 360 million years after the period when Earth was covered in Meganeura, predatory dragonflies with two-foot-long wingspans. At the same time, the “lung scorpion,” a scorpion the size of a skateboard, scurried around beneath these giant dragonflies, accompanied by the eight-foot-long Arthropleura millipede. This terrible time on planet Earth is known as the Carboniferous period.
[...] Around 300 million years ago, however, Earth was saturated with oxygen. Today’s atmosphere is 21% oxygen, while the Carboniferous period had an atmosphere that was 35% oxygen. With this overabundance, insects’ respiratory systems could support larger bodies than what we think of as typical.
[...] Today, you might consider an insect “big” if it’s the length of your finger. About 150 million years ago, bugs suddenly began to shrink back down. This also coincides nicely with the appearance of the first birds, whose prey of choice would have been the ubiquitous, slow-moving and protein-rich bugs. Under assault from flying predators, being large was no longer an advantage, and insect sizes were reduced to a mere still-way-too-big rather than gargantuan...
MORE: https://bigthink.com/matt-davis/earth-wa...al-insects