Why Giant Bugs Once Roamed the Earth

Galvasean

Another piece of what was considered palaeontological wisdom thrown out the window.

The leading theory is that ancient bugs got big because they benefited from a surplus of oxygen in Earth's atmosphere. But a new study suggests it's possible to get too much of a good thing: Young insects had to grow larger to avoid oxygen poisoning.

"We think it's not just because oxygen affects the adults but because oxygen has a bigger effect on larvae," said study co-author Wilco Verberk of Plymouth University in the U.K.

"So a larval perspective might lead to a better understanding of why these animals existed in the first place, and maybe why they disappeared."

Full article here.


(This is not what this thread is about)

Adam Khor

Does that mean there were really, really big larvae squirming around during the Carboniferous? Gross... I can´t stand even normal sized ones. Giant roaches and millipedes are ok.