Meganeuropsis
Meganeuropsis looked like a giant dragonfly, and it is the biggest insect that has ever been found. It lived in North America about 285 million years ago, before the dinosaurs. From wing tip to wing tip it was wider than a big pizza.
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Fun facts
Its wingspan was up to about 71 centimetres, the largest insect wings ever found.
Its body was almost 43 centimetres long from head to tail, longer than a school ruler.
It was not a real dragonfly but a griffinfly, a giant cousin of dragonflies that died out.
The first fossil was found in Elmo, Kansas, and described by the scientist Frank Carpenter in 1939.
One wing piece found in Oklahoma is 28 centimetres long on its own.
Most asked questions about Meganeuropsis
?What is the biggest insect ever?
Meganeuropsis. Its wings stretched up to about 71 centimetres, and its body was almost 43 centimetres long.
?When did Meganeuropsis live?
About 290 to 284 million years ago, long before the dinosaurs.
?Was Meganeuropsis a dragonfly?
Almost. It was a griffinfly, a close cousin of dragonflies that died out long ago.
For bug experts
- Scientific name
- Meganeuropsis
- Named by
- Carpenter, 1939
- Group
- Prehistoric giants
- Family
- Meganeuridae
- Classification
- Insecta > Meganisoptera > Meganeuridae
Where the facts come from
- Meganeuropsis (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0): what it looks like, where it lives, what it eats, sizes and fun facts, retold in simple words.
- Picture by Zyoute. CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons. The round sticker of this bug is cut from the same picture.
If we got something wrong, sorry, we are bug fans, not a science journal. Tell us at hello@bugwiki.app and we will fix it.
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