Do you know that some insects could become quite large if earth's atmosphere had a greater oxygen supply?

Question

About 300,000,000 years ago, some insects were much larger during the late Paleozoic period because Earth's air had an oxygen content of 35%, as compared to 21% during the present age. Dragon flies, for example, had a wingspan of two and one-half feet. How would you like THEM buzzing your picnic table?

Answer 1

I did.

And some spiders and crustaceans could also, or myriapods. Though some crustaceans alive today are very big.. eg king crabs. Why is this not as impressive as the dragon flies.??

I would love to have king crap on my dinner table, why not a flame-roasted barbecue giant dragon fly. Pass the salt please??

Answer 2

Yes, there's an article about all this on several science sites. There is, however, a limit on how large these insects could grow, even with a higher oxygen content. I sure wouldn't want a six-foot bee or wasp coming at me. Of course, large sized animals have flourished before (e.g., dinosaurs) and could well flourish again if we mini-brained mammals destroy the human-agreeable climate we now have. A sixty-foot Aligator or Croc? A 100-foot fer-de-lance or cobra? A ten-ton watermelon? Giant humans?

Answer 3

The gigantism seen in insects formerly was likely due to the higher oxygen content in the atmosphere. This is well shown in the fossil record and has been much reported upon in the literature. This should not be mixed in with the gigantism that has been seen in other animal taxa. Gigantism in crocodiles is not due to a high oxygen content and actually evolved itself seven times independantly. One should be careful to not draw relationships between different taxa especially if they are in different phyla.

Answer 4

somebody suggested that we've data of evolution. nicely, we concept we had data of the Earth being flat... nicely, wager what...? pass on, I dare you to wager... Oh, the Earth is almost a huge soccer :) What human beings think of won't unavoidably be actual, 'that's risky to be good while those around you're incorrect.' interior the previous, many stuff have been believed, yet we now be attentive to them to be untrue. only admit that we won't be able to be attentive to for one hundred% fact that what you assert is actual. i'm no longer claiming that we are able to assert that the Bible may well be proved to be one hundred% actual, yet for me, i might relatively have confidence the Bible that a load of, and that i quote "Theories" written via a Mr. Darwin, a Victorian naturalist. The Victorians enjoyed secret and magic, so what extra powerful thank you to entertain the time-honored public that via telling them that they more suitable from monkeys, the fact that this style of high-quality style of folk at present are such primitive thinkers as to stick to the crew, does no longer mean that the "concept" of evolution is actual.