Invertebrate
Meganeura
Its wingspan could exceed 70 centimeters, among the largest known for an insect.
Meganeura is reminiscent of a dragonfly, but belonged to a now extinct order of insects.
Three stages. One companion.
Game artwork
AI-generated, stylized game illustrations. These designs and growth stages are imaginative, not scientific reconstructions.
Meganeura at a glance
- Diet
- Predator of other invertebrates
- It was a predatory flying insect; resemblance to a dragonfly does not make it a species of living dragonfly.
- When it lived
- Carboniferous
- Group
- Meganisoptera
- Meganisopterans
- Fossil locations
- France
- Places where fossils have been found
Beyond the game
The real Meganeura
It belonged to the extinct insect order Meganisoptera, similar to dragonflies but distinct from them. Fossils from Commentry were found in 1880 and described a few years later.
Its wingspan could exceed 70 centimeters, among the largest known for any insect. That measurement spans the outstretched wings rather than the length of the body; French fossils preserve evidence of this remarkable scale.
This grouping describes evolutionary relationships. Its members share ancestors; they do not form a chain in which one must turn into another.
Fossil discoveries
Selected fossil records · present-day map
Map references
Map: Natural Earth, public domain. Fossil records: linked collections and publications.Sources & text credits
Explore the references behind this profile.
- Meganeura
Wikipedia contributors · Spanish source
Educational text adapted and translated from this article by Wikipedia contributors. The revision link, when captured in the source catalogue, identifies the source version.
- Meganeura
Wikipedia contributors · English source
Educational text adapted and translated from this article by Wikipedia contributors. The revision link, when captured in the source catalogue, identifies the source version.
- Meganisoptera
Wikipedia contributors · English source
Educational text adapted and translated from this article by Wikipedia contributors. The revision link, when captured in the source catalogue, identifies the source version.
Educational text adapted in English from the existing Wikipedia-backed Dinosgacha catalogue and linked articles by Wikipedia contributors.
Existing English translations have been selected and arranged for this encyclopedia. Repeated period and diet text is omitted where those fields already carry it. Unknown facts remain unfilled; unreviewed geological age phrases are omitted and period labels replace numerical ages.
The adapted educational text is available under CC BY-SA 4.0. This text license does not apply to the game illustrations.