Size reference
Source supportedAbout 70 cm wingspan
Museum reference for M. monyi; wing spread is not body length or a genus-wide adult range. [D1]
EXHIBIT 201
Meganeura
Meganeura
Prehistoric insect
Meganeura was a large flying insect from Carboniferous France, known for its expansive wings. [1]
TWO WAYS TO PICTURE THE PAST
Science & the silver screen
Compare the evidence with the familiar movie image. The illustrations are not to a shared scale.
01 / SOURCE-INFORMED RECONSTRUCTION
A life reconstruction from the evidence
Image unavailableIllustrative life reconstruction of Meganeura in a period-appropriate environment; coloration and missing anatomy are interpretations.The exhibit and its credited image source remain available.
An illustrative reconstruction. Compare its anatomy with the evidence and limitations in the dossier. [4]
Source-informed reconstruction. Appearance evidence [4]. Original illustration; missing anatomy, coloration and scenery include interpretation.
Fossils constrain this life reconstruction. Missing anatomy, coloration and the environmental scene include interpretation; the dossier explains the evidence limits.
02 / MOVIE-STYLE INTERPRETATION
A cinematic imagination
Image unavailableIllustrative reconstruction of Meganeura; incomplete anatomy, pose and colors are hypotheses.The exhibit and its credited image source remain available.
An illustrative reconstruction. Compare its anatomy with the evidence and limitations in the dossier. Lighting, coloration and scenery are artistic choices. This image does not document a fossil locality or behavior.
Original artwork · artistic interpretation.
Scientific view: source-informed reconstruction, credited paleoart or specimen-based imagery. Movie-style view: Original artistic interpretation. Reconstructions involve uncertainty.
PERIODLate Carboniferous[1]
DIETCarnivoreEvidence and uncertainty in the dossier
TOTAL LENGTHSee the dossierEstimate scope matters
FOSSILS FOUNDFrance[1]
MEET THE ANIMAL
Meet Meganeura
Meganeura was an insect that flew over what is now France late in the Carboniferous Period, roughly 300 million years ago. The best-known species, Meganeura monyi, came from the coalfields of Commentry. Its wings could spread about 70 centimeters across. That number describes the distance between the wing tips, rather than the length of its body. It was a large insect, not a dinosaur. [D1]
Its fossils belong to a much larger collection of ancient insects. Workers and researchers recovered many specimens from the old Commentry coal workings, and museums kept them for later study. An insect wing can preserve a fine network of veins even when the rest of the body is missing. Those patterns help researchers recognize kinds of insects and reconsider names assigned long ago. [D2]
Spines on the legs fit a predatory lifestyle, but the clearest detailed evidence comes from a related insect called Meganeurites. Comparing relatives helps build a careful picture without making every feature certain. The reviewed fossils do not tell us how Meganeura courted a mate or exactly where it laid eggs. [D4]
PREHISTORIC ANIMAL DOSSIER
A life in profile.
The animal, the evidence, and the questions still open.
Commentry collecting produced a remarkable insect archive; isolated wings make later identification and revision especially important. [D2]
Profile scope: Genus — Meganeura; reconstruction anchored to M. monyi from Commentry, France. [D1]
- Time
- Late Carboniferous
- Fossil locations in this exhibit
- France
How to read the evidence
Source supported identifies a description documented by the cited source. Inferred marks a reconstruction or functional estimate. Debated marks competing interpretations. Not established means the sources reviewed for this dossier do not support a firm conclusion; it does not mean a behavior never occurred.
A size reference is an estimate, not a population range. Nesting evidence does not by itself establish courtship, mate choice, or lifelong pairing.
Body mass
Not establishedNot established here
The inspected museum account supplies no defensible fossil-individual body-mass estimate. [D1]
Diet
InferredPredatory feeding inferred
Spiny legs and comparison with better-preserved meganeurids support carnivory; the detailed mouthpart study concerns Meganeurites. [D4]
Habitat
InferredCommentry coal-basin surroundings
Fossils come from a limnic basin; open woodland margins are a comparative habitat interpretation, not a preserved home. [D4]
Movement
InferredWing-powered flight
Large wings support flight; precise speed and modern dragonfly maneuvers are not established. [D4]
Distinctive anatomy
Source supportedVeined wings and spiny legs
Head details are poorly preserved; much of the complete living outline needs comparison with related insects. [D4]
Reproduction & life together
Reproduction
Not establishedNot established here
The reviewed anatomical study does not identify attributable eggs or a Meganeura life-cycle series. [D4]
Courtship
Not establishedNot established here
No genus-specific courtship sequence is established by the reviewed fossils. [D4]
Social behavior
Not establishedNot established here
Shared burial does not demonstrate coordinated groups or social organization. [D2]
Dossier research & sources
Sources and inspection notes for the claims in this profile.
- Meganeura monyi, libellule géanteMuséum national d’Histoire naturelle · Accessed 2026-10-05Museum specimen profile inspected: Commentry occurrence, Late Carboniferous age, discovery and approximately 70 cm wingspan. Its absolute largest-insect wording is not adopted because Meganeuropsis is larger. · Inspected: page
- Fossil insect collectionMuséum national d’Histoire naturelle · Accessed 2026-10-05Museum collection account inspected: historical Commentry collecting, Meganeura monyi, isolated wings and later taxonomic revisions. · Inspected: page
- MNHN.F.R51142 — historical Meganeura monyi determinationsMuséum national d’Histoire naturelle specimen database · Accessed 2026-10-05Full specimen record and determination history inspected. Header retains Dictyoneura monyi; later history identifies Meganeura monyi. Database calls the incomplete specimen a lectotype, while later papers use holotype; the exhibit avoids choosing between these conflicting type labels. · Inspected: page
- Palaeozoic giant dragonflies were hawker predators (Nel et al., 2018)Scientific Reports 8:12141 · Accessed 2026-10-05Full article inspected, particularly morphology and ecological interpretation. Direct new anatomical evidence is Meganeurites gracilipes, not Meganeura or Meganeuropsis; predator and open-space comparisons for those genera are explicitly inferences. Reviewed Meganeura head preservation and known leg spines. · Inspected: page
THE STORY IN THE FOSSILS
A wing from the coalfields
The Commentry collection shows how an insect can become familiar through wings while much of its living biology remains difficult to reconstruct. [2]
A note on scale and time
The dossier identifies the scope of each reference estimate. A mount, an individual fossil and a species-wide adult range are different measurements. Comparison metrics remain unavailable where adult scope has not been established. Unknown does not mean zero.
Sources & editorial notes
Sources support the stated claims and scopes. Refer to the evidence notes for uncertainty.
- Meganeura monyi, libellule géanteMuséum national d’Histoire naturelle · Accessed 2026-10-05Museum specimen profile inspected: Commentry occurrence, Late Carboniferous age, discovery and approximately 70 cm wingspan. Its absolute largest-insect wording is not adopted because Meganeuropsis is larger. · Inspected: page
- Fossil insect collectionMuséum national d’Histoire naturelle · Accessed 2026-10-05Museum collection account inspected: historical Commentry collecting, Meganeura monyi, isolated wings and later taxonomic revisions. · Inspected: page
- MNHN.F.R51142 — historical Meganeura monyi determinationsMuséum national d’Histoire naturelle specimen database · Accessed 2026-10-05Full specimen record and determination history inspected. Header retains Dictyoneura monyi; later history identifies Meganeura monyi. Database calls the incomplete specimen a lectotype, while later papers use holotype; the exhibit avoids choosing between these conflicting type labels. · Inspected: page
- Palaeozoic giant dragonflies were hawker predators (Nel et al., 2018)Scientific Reports 8:12141 · Accessed 2026-10-05Full article inspected, particularly morphology and ecological interpretation. Direct new anatomical evidence is Meganeurites gracilipes, not Meganeura or Meganeuropsis; predator and open-space comparisons for those genera are explicitly inferences. Reviewed Meganeura head preservation and known leg spines. · Inspected: page
KEEP EXPLORING
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