Did giant insects ever exist?
At The Beach in Howick Bay
#blackandwhite #arthropleura #carboon #fossilarthropleura #strandGrootBritanni #Nordhumberland #Howickbay
After many drizzly days, a huge block of sandstone suddenly fell from a cliff on the beach in Howick Bay, England's Northumberland.
A Cambridge University student happened to walk there, and when he curiously saw the lump of sandstone, which was so beautifully split in two, he was surprised to discover a huge fossil. Not just one. Because the fossil lived during the late Carboniferous, 326 million years ago. This is the period when, miraculously, the very first insects appeared. Like giant dragonflies, bees, wasps, mosquitoes and flies and huge spiders, cockroaches, jumpers, ants and centipedes. As we all know, they still exist. Quite a bit smaller. The insects were able to grow so big during the Carboniferous period because of the extensive presence of oxygen in the atmosphere. This was done by the cyanobacteria, which had previously reproduced successfully in the Oceans over millions of years. After all, they were the very first unicellular organisms to discover photosynthesis, who made use of the sun's rays, the CO2 in their bodies and the water. Which, as a waste product, released a drop of oxygen into the water each time.
AFTER THE SNOWBALL EARTH
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