The Time Insects Were Bigger Than Eagles

Added: 2026-06-02

[00:00:00]Long before trees covered the earth, giant dragonflies ruled the skies above endless swamp forests. [music] During the Carboniferous period, oxygen levels were far higher than today, allowing insects to grow to impossible sizes. Some dragonflies stretched nearly the width of an eagle's wingspan.

[00:00:18]Beneath them, towering ferns and ancient club moss forests trapped heat and moisture across the planet. Scientists believe these vast wetlands helped shape Earth's future coal deposits. But as oxygen levels slowly changed and climates shifted, the age of giant insects disappeared, leaving behind only fossils pressed into black stone.