What was the Earth like at the time of the Giant Insects ? | Documentary History of the Earth

[Music] have you ever come face to face with a dragonfly the size of a hawk if you would walk the surface of the Earth during the Carboniferous period it might have happened when gigantism is mentioned it tends to bring to mind the very famous dinosaurs that roam the Earth during the Jurassic period 150 million years ago and yet dragonflies millipedes spiders or even scorpions have reached a while ago exceptional sizes [Music] a surprising Evolution that is due to the constraints imposed by the conditions of the living environment but how did such small insects reach such important dimensions and why did they become extinct dear traveler welcome today we are embarking on a wonderful journey into the world of insects those curious and surprising creatures and their giant Carboniferous ancestors before leaving for a new adventure think of liking the video and subscribing to the channel to not miss anything thank you have a nice trip [Music] bugs are everywhere they are one of Evolution's greatest achievements three quarters of all animals are insects their numbers are exceptional around us a billion billion insects fly swim and walk without us seeing them their mass is 300 times greater than that of humanity their small size means that we often ignore them there was a time on earth when insects did not go unnoticed a very ancient history that results from a combination of adaptations each more surprising than the next insects with a wingspan of 70 centimeters or 30 inches or giant millipedes measuring up to 3 meters or 10 feet creatures that actually walk the Earth's surface more than 350 million years ago when did insects start to conquer the land and how did they eventually grow to such exceptional sizes good all insects are arthropods they have a cuticle or rigid shell called an exoskeleton and a body divided into segments they each have a pair of jointed appendages within the arthropod are insects Crustaceans spiders and millipedes the body of these creatures is divided into three parts the head the thorax and the abdomen the head includes the antennae eyes and mouth parts the thorax has three pairs of legs and two pairs of wings the abdomen is divided into several segments and has no appendages and the genitalopings open at its tip Crustaceans were the first animals to emerge from the water it took multiple adaptations for hexapods to diverge from these Crustaceans the biggest and most important adaptation was the appearance of wings [Music] 425 million years ago a few million years after the first plants began invading land the first animals also ventured out of the water these first curious creatures are segmented creatures the ancestors of our centipedes at first they stayed close to the water then they Venture into the Mosses that contain moisture and food through plant debris and spores these myriapods being initially adapted to Aquatic Life they must evolve they acquire an external skeleton and develop a different way of breathing myriapods are equipped with a system of respiratory tubes called trachea each tube leads to the side of the carapace and splits into an increasingly fine Network that leads to the organs and tissues even penetrating each cell to bring oxygen the first ancestors of hexapods that ventured onto land were crustaceans once on land hexapods diverge from crustaceans it took multiple adaptations each more extraordinary than the last the first challenge of the insects when they leave the water is to overcome desiccation and to regulate the concentration of dissolved salt in their body fluid this has been made possible by some physiological and morphological adaptations insects are more resistant to water loss if they know how to accumulate it in their body this must represent at least 50 percent of their total mass this is why larvae store glycogen that will be able to bind with water the higher the body glycogen the more water the insect stores in its body the water is then found in the hemolymph the equivalent of our blood without the respiratory function the hemolymph fills a cavity in which the organs float and which constitutes the largest pool of extracellular water this accumulated water is precious insects have three mechanisms to limit water loss the presence of a cuticle tracheal respiration and the ability to recover water during excretion insects are covered by a rigid cuticle the Deep layers of this cuticle are soft while the upper layer is called the epicutical is made rigid by a protein called sclerotin the epicutical is very thin it measures from 0.5 to 3 micrometers it is itself formed of several layers and is in contact with the atmosphere the middle layer is totally impermeable it limits the evaporation of water Marine Crustaceans do not have this layer because they do not have to worry about water loss the thinness of the epicutical leads to a relative fragility the second adaptation mechanism the insects is their respiratory system indeed they had to adapt to air breathing the gills of aquatic Crustaceans are thus replaced not by lungs but by tracheas it is about invagination of the tegument which opens on the outside by sphericals these small openings are visible on the sides of the thorax and abdomen the sphericals are formed to prevent dust and water from entering the tubes a spiral-shaped Shetland filament surrounds the trachea and prevents them from collapsing they are connected to each other to allow air to circulate throughout the body the tracheae branch out into thinner and thinner tracheals once they reach the heart of the organs the tracheals measure only two to five micrometers in diameter they then lose their chitin become intimately connected to the organs and oxygen from the air diffuses to the cells the third and final mechanism is to avoid drying out by retaining body water despite the need to evacuate certain toxic wastes this is the function of the malficion tubes this adaptation allows to save water these tubes open into the digestive tract it Bay is in the hemolymph urea uric acid calcium oxalate and other nitrogenous waste products concentrate in the mobile organs and are then evacuated towards the rectum and anus as it passes through the rectum the water is reabsorbed and returns to the hemolymph insects produce dry droppings and thus save water the mode of reproduction on land life also requires some changes their sperm can no longer move in the absence of water the male and the female go to meet each other in order to transmit their sex cells a rather laborious process but one that bears fruit is undulating frisky creatures are prime prey for other species the animals gradually become more and more dependent on the humidity and continue their terrestrial adaptation at the same time the plants also evolve now out of the water and able to move insects must feed mouth parts will adapt over the course of evolution but the earliest specimens have primitive crusher-type mouth parts an upper lip holds the food on the mouth floor there is a chitinus projection underneath the mouth appendages consisting of among other things crushing mandibles later on insects will develop a crushing licking biting sucking or sucking licking apparatus over the course of evolution insects have acquired a developmental pattern that includes molting and metamorphosis during a pupil stage between two very different stages this is the Holo metabolism that appeared at the end of the Carboniferous period then appear as an additional stage during the development the nymph after the a The larva and the adult the nymph offers the possibility of a stop of development or activity these pauses called dormancy allow the insects to adapt or anticipate unfavorable and difficult environmental conditions it is a factor of ecological success insects are the only invertebrates that can fly insect Wings have a special structure the appearance of wings in the acquisition of flight have allowed insects to diversify into families Genera and species the benefits of this are numerous better dispersal to search for food or favorable environments an ability to escape from predators more quickly and a better reproductive strategy today almost all insect species are winged they are called pterygoats the evolution of wings and insects helps explain their incredible richness on our planet theories have been put forward to explain the origin of insect wings the wings of insects are placed between the dorsal part of a segment of the thorax and the first segment of the legs other groups of animals that have developed Wings have in most cases done so at the expense of a pair of legs this is not the case in insects which retain two pairs of wings and three pairs of legs after many years of studying the morphology of primitive and present-day arthropods entomologist and paleontologist jarmilla kukalova Peck has been able to provide an answer to the question of the evolution of insect wings she suggests that the wings of Terror goat insects derive only from the first segment of the legs according to her the legs of arthropods are branched with a dorsal appendage and a ventral appendage the wings would have been derived from modified external appendages while the first pair would have been incorporated into the thorax or lost this idea also explains why insects have complex musculature even before they have functional wings the surface of their wings is covered with sensory structures similar to those on their legs this allows them to control their reflexes and movements and ensure controlled flight [Music] the wing is a cuticular membrane formed by the superposition of a dorsal epidermal layer and a ventral epidermal layer the muscles that give movement are located at the base of the wing and are connected to the thorax once insects have become accustomed to terrestrial life they have not stopped innovating under the pressure of the environment and in the course of evolution they have accumulated significant adaptations through their legs their food system their color their shape and also their mode of reproduction there was even a time when insects evolved to extraordinary sizes giant dragonflies spectacular millipedes or breathtaking spiders populated the forests and plains but how did these animals reach such gigantism about 360 million years ago the earth was just emerging from the devonian mass extinction an ocean of effervescent magma forms a giant plume over present-day Siberia it pierces the Earth's crust it is the explosion superheated gases emerge from the bowels of the Earth the water of the oceans begins to boil an underwater earthquake sound the volcanic eruptions take on such proportions that they produce thousands of tons of molten rock the Marine fauna is devastated seventy percent of the marine animals succumb the plume poisons the water the ocean is contaminated and the gases spread into the atmosphere the landscape is only desolation the Earth is dying [Music] the eruptions last for hundreds of thousands of years the atmosphere becomes saturated with carbon dioxide and vegetation proliferates the leaves of the trees fall accumulate and rot on the ground they form a first layer of hummus then carried in the Water by The Rains they feed the algae which developed in an uncontrolled way the Earth is asphyxiated the ashes form gigantic clouds the sky darkens fires break out all over the Earth the sun no longer penetrates the atmosphere it is cold and the Earth enters a volcanic winter although the current conditions are unpleasant and hostile to Life trees will give the planet a second wind by producing a little more oxygen every year temperatures will eventually stabilize and allow life to diversify again the temperature will remain warm and stable during the early Carboniferous period gondwana located in the high latitudes of the southern hemisphere is later covered with ice the climate then cool but remained relatively stable on the lorasia part later the continents of laurasia and gondwana resulting from the breakup of rudinia come together again and form a single continent called Pangea this Collision will form the Appalachians in the east of present-day North America and the hersanian mountains in the United Kingdom the immense pantalasa ocean surrounds this Continental block the ocean level rises due to the movement of tectonic plates large areas of the continents are covered by shallow Seas with coral and Limestone deposits in the Seas most of the devonian underwater species have disappeared new fish species appear on land forests are growing the ferns still remain but alongside them bark and Seed trees appear little by little large swamps welcome arthropods tetrapods and amphibians the Earth enters a period called the Carboniferous it is named after the fact that it is home to the first episode of large coal accumulation the coals will be thereafter the primary source of energy founding the first Industrial Revolution during fires or floods the bark trees are buried the sedimentation transforms them into coal it is the carbonization [Music] buried deprived of air and subjected to a strong pressure the organic elements are transformed into carbon compounds under the action of anaerobic bacteria thick layers of peat a less evolved form of coal are formed favored by active plate tectonics the base and sink in fits and starts occasionally they are completely submerged followed by sedimentation and re-vegetation this phenomenon can occur dozens of times and buries the material even deeper it is transformed into coal increasingly rich in carbon [Music] from Pete it evolves into lignite then into coal while displaying a black color this formation of coal is accompanied by an increase in the oxygen content of the atmosphere this is why the Carboniferous period is marked by an oxygen content that rises to 35 percent against 21 today modern humans would not tolerate such a high oxygen content in the air but some creatures adapt perfectly to these new living conditions the Flora at this time is extremely rich vigorous and more or less uniform one finds a great diversity of large trees like cryptograms with lipidodendrons and Ferns and gymnosperms like cycads and conifers lapidodendron is a genus of tree fern this oversized plant dominated the Earth during the Carboniferous period and reached up to 35 meters or 115 feet in height it abounds on all continents with a preference for Europe and North America located near the equator at the time giant lycopods thrive in swampy areas this primitive tree has narrow and Tiny Paths of five millimeters by half a millimeter covering the surface of the bark in large numbers these pads are roughly diamond shaped in their widest part at the level of the upper quarter there is a ridge in the shape of an inverted V on which the leaves are inserted this tree dominates marshes and floodplains lepidodendron is very branched it is an important component of the ecosystem of the time alongside it ferns are found in abundance especially tree ferns the frond is the plant organ that plays the role of leaves and ferns in Palms or in large algae the fronds of tree ferns are very large and strongly cut they appear at first in a coiled form and gradually lengthen their trunk is supported by the fibrous mass of the roots calamites reaching 10 meters in height with a trunk of one meter in diameter are found alongside ferns this kind of plant is similar to the current horse tails they appreciate the marshes of the Carboniferous the aspect of this tree is impressive it's striated and shiny stems form an articulated and grooved trunk giving it the appearance of a bamboo trunk the leaves of calamites can reach quite large sizes the cycads look like palm trees they have a more or less squat trunk that ends in a crown of large rigid leaves the size of the trunk varies from a few centimeters to several meters and its growth is very slow on the other hand that of the leaves is relatively fast the cycads are very Diversified with various forms the trunk can be thin stocky the stem Underground the plant climbing and the leaves more or less segmented despite their slow growth these trees can live a long time up to two thousand years for some species the largest specimens measure up to 20 meters or 65 feet in height and 50 centimeters or 20 inches in diameter some much more massive species can have a trunk measuring up to 1.50 meters in diameter the root of cycads is thick it fixes the diazoate of the atmosphere thanks to a symbiosis with cyanobacteria the trunk is partly composed of wood it can be more or less buried the large leaves are similar to those of palm trees or ferns cycads are dio-icious and represented by individuals that are either male or female the reproductive organs are found in the heart of the flower crown in the form of a cone of leaves they thrive in the tropical environment of the Carboniferous and grow on well-drained soils conifers are Woody plants characterized by a single straight trunk and lateral branches conifers vary in size they can grow to over 100 meters or 330 feet tall or less than one meter or less than one foot tall its leaves are mostly long and thin hence the name needles although they initially grow in wetlands and Coastal mangroves they later colonize other environments until they form the first dry forests conifers are part of the gymnosperms they are plants that produce naked seeds not enclosed in a fruit they are vascular plants with seeds in the shape of a cone hence their name of conifers conifers adapt to all climatic conditions resisting to drought and frost they produce on the same foot male and female cones they are mono-icious species they produce thousands of pollen grains which are the male gametes with or without wings the latter are equipped with aerosacs which increase their lightness after the release in the air facilitating the dispersion by the wind once released these pollen grains are carried by the wind to reach the female cones these cones consist of leaves with a large scale that carries one or two ovules the pollen penetrates the ovule of the plant and germinates a polemic tube develops and releases two gametes one will fertilize the egg the other will degenerate once fertilized the nucleus that the egg divides and forms a large embryo they then evolve into embryonic leaves under a sepia-colored sky all these giant trees store carbon dioxide and release oxygen in huge quantities forests consume as much oxygen as they produce so they don't contribute any extra oxygen to the atmosphere it is the ocean that will play the role of regulator of oxygen byproduct of photosynthesis the more carbon dioxide photosynthesis consumes the more oxygen it produces it is during periods of high photosynthetic activity that the oxygen concentration rate increases at the same time if carbon is sequestered there is less free oxygen for respiration and oxygen in the atmosphere increases oxygen is only in the atmosphere if the organic matter is not breathed in and metabolized it forests develop as coastal plains and swampy areas it is thanks to this high level of oxygen in the air that some individuals reach considerable sizes remember that insects do not breathe through lungs but through a system of tubes called tracheae and tracheals that carry air to the vital organs this form of respiration is not very suitable the air in gaseous form is conducted to the tissues and the larger the insects are the more oxygen they need these giant insects reign supreme during the Carboniferous period and we're at the top of the predation scale thanks to their large size they find food and abundance the oxygen level is maximal and no Predator opposes their development arthropleura is a cousin of our current millipedes this giant can reach up to three meters or 10 feet in length and weigh up to 50 kilograms or 110 pounds it is one of the largest terrestrial invertebrates ever discovered it is a quiet herbivore that lives in Forest environments and in swamps it thrives in wetlands arthropleura cohabits with other giant arthropods of this time its flattened body is composed of about 30 articulated segments each covered with lateral and Central plates it moves quickly by crawling on the ground or in the trees to find its food it is rather agile and paces along the forest floor swerving to avoid trees and rocks it has a hundred jointed legs its claws allow it to cling to the bark of trees its imposing carapace protects it from the aggressors since it is necessary to succeed in turning it on its back to attack it it does not fear predators and defends itself well to impress its enemies arthroplura raises the front of its body like a cobra [Music] Mega niera ammonia is one of the most spectacular insects to have lived on earth it is a species of the lineage related to the current dragonflies and damselflies belonging to the super order Odana toptura at that time no other creature flies neither Birds nor reptiles this ancestor of dragonflies has a monopoly of the sky and is a true predator meganura monia lives in tropical forests near rivers and lakes its wings reinforced by ribs have a wingspan reaching up to 70 centimeters or 30 inches it is the largest flying insect known to date Mega Nira ammonia has independent wings that make it agile during flight it moves at more than 70 kilometers per hour or 40 miles per hour and soars at more than 5 meters per second or 16 feet per second it hunts in Flight thanks to its head which is independent from the rest of its body because of its gigantic size it has a very energetic metabolism and a consequent need for food its mandibles are powerful and sharp and its legs are Sharp it is able to shred cut and tear off pieces of its prey in order to feed its four legs are adorned with spines that serve to hold the creatures they attack it has all the characteristics of a super Predator including large eyes that allow it to see up to 360 degrees up and down although it is the ancestor of our dragonflies it is much more similar to our current Raptors Mega neuromonia such as the paleodictiopteron which appears as a giant winged insect sometime later it tries to be discreet the vegetarian insects at this time have no physiological defense to survive against giant Predators they also have to become Giant but the Paleo dictopterons will never exceed meganura some specimens can still reach significant sizes with a wingspan of about 55 centimeters or 21 inches they have beak-like mouth parts that they use to make holes in plants and feed by sucking plant juices they are also called six-winged insects because of the presence of a pair of wings on each thoracic segment they live alongside after a blatina a cockroach measuring 50 centimeters or 20 inches long residing in humid environments this giant insect has long and thin antennas and stays on the lookout for Predators with its large eyes its body of oval and flattened form displays a rather dark color that allows him to remain discreet compared to other giant insects pullmanascorpius is a species of giant scorpion that lived alongside Mega neuromonia and arthroplora its name means lung scorpion this carnivorous arthropod could reach up to 70 centimeters or 28 inches long its tail is much more developed than its claws its sting is powerful and allows it to kill other arthropods as well as small tetrapods such as birds mammals or reptiles to eat them it is its first weapon the Venom also allows to start the digestion of the prey the small size of its claws does not allow it to hunt prey larger than it it uses it mainly to manipulate the prey already dead his eyes are relatively well developed and he uses them to orient himself Mega Rockne is considered the largest spider that has ever lived on earth its body measures 34 centimeters or 13 inches long with a distance between the upper legs a 50 to 60 centimeters or about 24 inches its abdomen is spherical and its 15 millimeter eyes are sunken in the middle of two other eyes it is comparatively as big as a human head if it existed today it would be able to hunt cats it thrives in the human forests of the Carboniferous period megarachne occupies the top of the predation just after Mega neuron giant insects are widely noticed but other smaller and more discreet insects are also present in the Carboniferous these include even the earliest representatives of hemipterins such as bugs and cicadas beetles such as beetles and hymenopterans such as wasps and ants these groups make up a very large portion of the modern species known on Earth Hollow metabola are found in large numbers these are insects that undergo metamorphosis and have immature stages such as the caterpillar that are very different from their adult stage while during the Carboniferous period one speaks of gigantism these insects are the smallest ever found at that time life in the waters is rich in crinoids and other species of echinoderms crinoids are fascinating animals they are similar to plants rooted in the seafloor however if you analyze them closely there is no doubt that they are not plants but animals of the echinoderm family like sea urchins or starfish the resemblance with the plant is such that anatomical terms are used to describe them like roots or stems crinoids are made up of a long stem called peduncle and a body called calyx extended by arms attached to the bottom of the ocean they form real underwater Meadows crinoids have a skeleton composed of small segmented elements on which the classical fifth order symmetry of echinoderms is recognizable this same symmetry is evident in starfish the stem elements of crinoids also form a five-pointed star brachiopods and trilobites are abundant the latter are arthropods that dominate the oceans for hundreds of millions of years they reach an impressive diversity with more than eighteen thousand known species they are characterized by one of the oldest visual systems developed by animals a very efficient structure that is still found today in insects or Crustaceans the faceted eyes formed by the Assembly of structures sensitive to light the shape of their lenses is unique in the history of biodiversity each one has a bowl-shaped lower part connected by a wavy surface to the upper part trilobites correct spherical aberrations of vision as they evolve they acquire a wide range of visual adaptations and adapt to all living conditions such as burial and sediments absence or scarcity of light or the bright light of shallow Marine environments a newcomer on land ichthyostega wanders among plants and alongside arthropods vertebrates have remained in the water for nearly 140 million years but now their fins transformed into legs allow them to colonize dry land thanks to the appearance of a new joint between the fins and the body of the organisms a greater Mobility is possible this is how vertebrates of one meter long whose body retains the shape of fish are endowed with members adapted to move occasionally on land this is the case of ichthyostega a tetrapod with fish-like characteristics no other animal is comparable to it in nature today it marks a crucial turning point in the history of the Earth by being the first four-legged vertebrate to set foot on land it lives near rivers lakes and swamps it alternates between terrestrial and Aquatic environments in search of food with its long sharp teeth it feeds on fish insects and small land animals it reaches a maximum length of about 2 meters or seven feet and a weight up to 90 kilograms or 200 pounds for the biggest specimens its skull is similar to that of a fish it's two small eyes located on the Dorsal fins allow it to have a good vision its body is covered with small scales and its spine is robust its legs are not yet very effective for the displacements on the ground they are rather used to swim as also show it seven fingers connected by a membrane its tail keeps the shape of a fin and remains very useful to move in water this tetrapod keeps a more aquatic way of life than terrestrial corals build important reefs in the warm Waters of the Carboniferous they occupy all the oceans they are made up of millions of tiny animals living in colonies the shape of a colony is determined by the species and environmental factors such as light temperature or current a complex architecture that resembles a human brain corals live in symbiosis with algae called zuksanthelae these microscopic algae play an important role in their survival and are responsible for their color sharks take curious shapes helicoprion is a good example this shark has an extraordinary feature its jaw shows a dental wheel its teeth are indeed in the form of a spiral strip similar to a saw blade that has been rolled up it can reach 50 centimeters or 20 inches and carry up to 150 teeth the oldest teeth are located on the outer part of the Spiral while the newest teeth which have just grown in are located on the inner part of the Spiral this Dental wheel represents the end of the lower jaw and is located almost entirely under the skin of the animal leaving only a few teeth visible the others are used as Reserve when those of outside fall it feeds on soft-bodied organisms like cephalopods the largest specimens can reach up to 7 meters or 23 feet in length helicopter fish swim through schools of fish by opening its mouth and catching them with its mini teeth [Music] on Earth animals other than giant insects display large sizes like an amphibian named eriops it is one of the first amphibians eerieops has adaptations that allow it to move from an aquatic to a terrestrial environment its size is remarkable it measures up to 3 meters or 10 feet long and weighs up to 200 kilograms or 440 pounds it's stocky and vigorous legs allow it to carry its weight out of the water it has a massive skeleton its large skull has a jaw equipped with extraordinary teeth a true adaptation to the carnivorous way of life they are of an incomparable resistance the largest ones measure up to 15 millimeters its palette is also entirely covered with small pointed teeth and curved towards the back allowing it to maintain in its mouth slippery specimens like fish it swallows its Praise by advancing them in Progressive stages to the bottom of its mouth its eyes are located rather behind its elongated skull it is very similar to the current crocodiles it lives near Wetlands close to lakes and rivers the cells of its skin allow it to detect the vibrations of the trunk diplocalis is one of the strangest amphibians ever discovered it has a surprising Boomerang shaped head morphology results from an elongation of certain bones of its skull the eye is located very in front are very close to the point of the boomerang the body of the animal is flat rather short Broad and robust it has very small legs with webbed fingers that it puts against its body to swim the lateral expansions of its head appear only during the growth when the skull exceeds 20 millimeters they develop and grow the diplocalis can measure up to one meter long its evolved head helps it to swim against the current but also serves as a rudder with it it can rise to the surface of the water or descend depending on whether it tilts its head down or up like all amphibians it can go back and forth between water and land it has to be attentive to other Predators such as mechanura Which flies overhead in constant surveillance it feeds on different fishes of ponds and marshes but also on other amphibians or smaller insects when hunting it stays camouflaged near the bottom of the water and waits for its prey its eyes above the head allow it to see perfectly what an animal approaches he hunts like a current salamander by sucking his prey like a vacuum cleaner [Music] while all the animals try to remain discreet toward the giant insects a major Innovation will occur in the world of the vertebrates the appearance of the amniotic egg for the majority of animals that live in water fertilization is external and the resulting egg develops in the Aquatic environment without any shell during the Carboniferous period vertebrates were able to free themselves completely from water thanks to the appearance of the amniotic egg the animals whose embryo is surrounded by an amnion constitute the clade of amniotes and are represented by birds mammals crocodiles lizards snakes and turtles from now on these species will be able to reproduce on Earth the embryo develops in its own liquid environment protected by an impermeable membrane or by a shell a part of the embryo evolves in three Pockets each having a precise function it holds itself in the amnion it draws its food from the reserves of the vitiline vesicle and its waste is stored in the alantoid the amniotes become a clade divided into two groups the synapsids and the seropsids the latter gave birth to reptiles and dinosaurs including Birds the group of synapsids will slowly lead to the mammals the first synapses have the appearance of reptiles they are the premammals the oldest lineages of synapses are the palacosaurs the oldest amniotes known to date are helanimous layli and archaeothirus hylanimous is a genus of primitive seropside it measures about 20 centimeters and feeds on insects it is a small animal which looks a little like our current lizards archaea virus as for him is a synapsid it reaches a more honorable size of 50 centimeters or 20 inches long it also feeds on small insects faced with giant insects these two specimens do not impress they will however make a place for themselves at the end of the Carboniferous period and will experience an important diversification oh helicosaurs are the first basal synapsids with a reptilian appearance the dimetrodon is an individual that stands out strongly in the Carboniferous forests its vertebrates Sports so far from discrete dorsal sale the largest individuals can reach 300 kilograms or 660 pounds the neural spines of its dorsal and cervical vertebrae are elongated and covered with skin this Veil serves as a thermal regulator by increasing the size of the sale the dimetrodon increases the contact surface between its body and the external environment it has a very powerful jaw coupled with a muscular system allowing it to move back and forth it is equipped with sharp teeth allowing it to catch its praise and pointed teeth being used to pierce and retain the food in its mouth another interesting feature is that its teeth have granulations like those found on steak knives [Music] is very similar to dimetrodon in that it also has a large Crest on its back this herbivorous synapsid can measure up to 3 meters or 10 feet in length contrary to dimetrodon it s dorsal Veil is vascularized and provided with lateral expressences on its neural spines its digestive system is weak its head is relatively small compared to the rest of its body its jaw is equipped with cone-shaped teeth very useful for crushing tough vegetation these two species are characterized by the fact their skull has only one temporal fossa the skulls of mammals including Homo sapiens have these same characteristics these first synapses species were the appearance of reptiles will evolve over the years at the beginning of simple small amniotes eutation after mutation they become larger creatures their morphology metamorphosis their teeth specialize according to their herbivorous or carnivorous diet giant insects are no longer the only predators to dominate the world and are also becoming prey but is this the only cause of their disappearance environmental changes begin in the Permian all the land masses are still grouped in a single supercontinent a Paleo ocean the tethus ocean gradually opens up from east to west across Pangea in the polar regions there is an ice sheet while the rest of Pangea is still subject to Tropical conditions resulting in high temperatures and low rainfall the fauna underwent some changes with the appearance of bipedalism and some flying vertebrate animals even if it is about gliding and not flying new Predators appear in front of the giant flying insects amphibians and reptiles are growing to sizes that are beginning to make the giant insects pale in comparison little by little the level of oxygen in the atmosphere decreases which will not be without consequences for the latter [Music] will not all disappear at the same time but will each suffer on their own scale the effects of these changes the decrease in oxygen levels changes the size of insects in the Permian oxygen levels drop from 35 to 23 percent very close to our current level Pangea extends from pole to pole and is subject to extreme climatic conditions in its Center deserts are formed but at the equator Remain the dense and Lush forests of the Carboniferous the monsoons punctuate this period of climatic change it is then that a white fungus appears it starts to degrade the cellulose of wood thanks to an enzyme from then on the plant debris and dead trees decompose and no longer form charcoal the carbon is then released in the atmosphere making fall the rate of oxygen the arthroplura has great difficulty in adapting to this change in atmosphere the forest environment dries up the available vegetation decreases the arthropleura is a herbivore it feeds on the sweet plants of Equatorial and tropical type which spring up at the time because of the drying of the forest the vegetation which is its only source of food is decreasing the arthropleura will be among the first giant insects to disappear Mega neura survives this change in oxygen levels in the atmosphere compared to arthroplora it has a great advantage its wings 270 million years ago the earth's climate remains warm and humid its oxygen level is slightly higher than today Mega neura still flies around largely represented by Megan ouropsis it measures up to 50 centimeters long when its muscles contract to move its wings up and down they exert pressure on the alveoli which helps circulate air throughout the body flight therefore gives winged giant insects an advantage their active tissues are better oxygenated compared to those of non-flying insects and arthropods many of the giant non-flying insects have disappeared but meganeuropsis is still there at the top of the food chain she will soon find herself facing new dangers 252 million years ago the earth underwent the Permian mass extinction with catastrophic consequences for the entire ecosystem it all starts under the crust of present-day Siberia huge quantities of magma Under Pressure tore the ground over several hundred kilometers the lava pours out the volcanoes reject rocks and fusion dust and lava this outpouring will quickly cover two million square kilometers or 770 000 square miles the volcanoes release sulfur dioxide which when mixed with clouds causes acid rain the terrestrial Flora is annihilated the ashes produced by the eruptions invade the sky until the sun is largely obscured the Earth begins a Long Winter period during which the temperatures collapse and the gases poison the air thousands of species of animals and plants disappear during this volcanic winter which lasts several decades carbon dioxide which was also released during the eruptions accumulates in the atmosphere until it causes the Earth to warm up the climate becomes milder again these sudden temperature changes are a real ecological disaster the whole planet warms up and so do the oceans the oceans find themselves lacking in oxygen under the effect of heat methane hydrates kept at the bottom of the oceans in a solid state thanks to the low temperatures are released into the atmosphere this powerful greenhouse gas undoubtedly increases the temperature on Earth during such a cataclysm it is often the smallest species that managed to survive our giant insects suffer the full force of mass extinction even if some Escape unscathed the ecological niches that are now vacant will be occupied by new Predators against which our insects will no longer be able to compete [Music] oh until then these giant winged insects were the only ones to have conquered the sky as early as 250 million years ago competitors arrived in the air flying reptiles appeared the first was a gliding reptile called Calera saravis it seemed that he learned to Glide to capture insects in flight at the same time global warming was increasing at this time reptiles are trying to live in the trees and in the sky the Calera saravis has sharp teeth that allow it to overcome the solid shells of insects of the time its wings are retractable bony rods start from the armpits and allow the animal to Glide its head is rather thin in the shape of a triangle and it does not exceed 40 centimeters or 16 inches long its small size does not allow it to attack meganura but it competes with it in its hunt since it hunts the same prey as her Calera saravis is only a first sketch of the flying creatures but the reptiles have not finished surprising us it would have been the first to compete with giant insects before other species appeared most pterosaurs do not eat insects the only ones that have teeth that allow them to eat insects are those belonging to the anarachness family this is one of the smallest pterosaurs it hunt small insects and competes with large insects that also hunt these prey pterosaurs spread on Earth 230 million years ago but tracognathus cousin of anuragnathus is a flying reptile that lives at night and feeds on insects its gigantic jaw is adorned with a dozen teeth no flying insect can match anoregnathus even though it flies quite slowly with peaks of up to 40 kilometers per hour or 25 miles per hour combined with the wind it is forced to flap its wings to stay in the air this is how reptiles evolved from gliding to flapping the action of flapping wings makes them more agile and precise which is interesting for hunting insects in flight the prey of giant insects becomes less available during the first 200 million years the size of insects changed according to the concentration of oxygen in the atmosphere the more oxygen there is the larger the insects become when the level decreases the insects become smaller nevertheless 150 million years ago towards the end of the Jurassic insects decreased in size while the oxygen level was high this is because another big opponent appears the first bird like archeopteryx it is far from resembling our current Birds it's long feathered and floating tail is supported by an extension of its spine it has claws on its feet but also in the three fingers of its front limbs which are covered with feathers it has more the appearance of a reptile than a bird it has Jaws furnished with teeth the feathers which are an evolution of The Reptilian scales cover all its body providing him a thermal insulation of quality archeopteryx is thus able to move quickly even when it is very cold not yet fully adapted to flight it uses its feathers as a net by spreading its wings widely it catches the insects as in a trap archeopteryx will have to lighten up if he wants to improve his flight its bones are dense like those of reptiles its heavy tail is a burden for flight [Music] a new generation of creatures that experiment with flight is emerging small dinosaurs like ankionis fly over carnivorous forests its limbs are equipped with claws which allows it to climb trees to gain altitude its front and back legs are decorated with feathers and it uses them as wings the feather is an exceptional creation few materials can match it both as an insulator and as a supporting surface it is made of keratin but its exceptional quality comes from its construction the central shaft is lined on both sides with numerous fine filaments each one is also fringed with even finer filaments these flexible structures trap air and provide unparalleled insulation a bird the size of a swan has about 25 000 feathers all the characteristics that distinguish birds from other animals are related to the advantages of their feathers birds are also excellent Predators against neganura no creature in the world can fly as far and as fast as they can their wings support and propel them they obey the same laws of aerodynamics that man has applied in building airplanes next to birds and pterosaurs a new lineage of vertebrates practicing flapping flight appears they are the bats the most primitive bat known to date is called anikonic Terrace finier this specimen has long limbs with long fingers and a surname large enough to Anchor the muscles used for flight its shoulders show powerful muscles it is physically equipped for flight This Bat has claws on the Five Fingers of each front member its hind limbs are particularly long and allow it to walk or climb It's relatively short Wing suggest that bats began to move by gliding from tree to tree until they acquired sufficient musculature to move to sustained flight the notable difference with modern bats is that oniconic critis Finney has an auricular bone structure that does not allow for an echolocation organ it's dentition allows it to feed on insects that it must capture in Flight using its sight and smell this small flying animal competes largely with meganeura for its hunting in the air the last giant insects are now prey from the surface of the Earth to the sky they have to hide every time they make themselves visible they put themselves in danger since all the early birds are insectivores these birds will improve their flight and become more and more agile giant insects are much less agile than small insects predation is strong the appearance of the first birds and bats has undoubtedly influenced the size of insects the giant insects will evolve and gradually give way to the small creatures of today [Music] volcanic eruptions occurred in the Cretaceous 125 million years ago some plants were trapped in the ash like the ancestors of flowering plants [Music] archifructis and monsesia are the first known flowers to have grown on Earth archifructis is a small herbaceous plant reminiscent of the anatomy of water lilies Manisha has long narrow stems and numerous fruits throughout the plant these two specimens have nothing in common with the flowering plants known today these plants are aquatic and grow at the edge of water like Lakes the insects evolve and feed less and less on other insects to concentrate on flowering plants but the appearance of plants will have another impact on the life of the insects the very beginning of the life of dragonflies is underwater they remain larva for a few years and feed on other larvae flowering plants appear at the edge of lakes their withered petals fall into the water the aquatic ecosystem changes aquatic microorganisms break down the petals and release CO2 they consume the oxygen and decrease its availability for the dragonfly larvae the dragonfly is present at this time cannot survive other dragonflies appear more adapted to this change even if the giant insects disappear the insect class is still present it is during the end of the Mesozoic that insects develop a major Innovation that definitely establishes their success in the world of living things the chrysalis this is an intermediate stage of development between the larva called caterpillar and the adult butterfly this stage is present in lepidopterans while in the Chrysalis Stage the insect cannot move or feed its whole body is being reorganized as it will pass from a caterpillar state to a winged butterfly and dedicated to reproduce the Chrysalis plays a role of protection of the caterpillar when this one starts to transform the caterpillar is born with all the materials it needs to become a butterfly enclose in its cocoon the organs Wings antenna and legs of the butterfly will be able to form to carry out its metamorphosis the caterpillar chooses a quiet place in safety generally in height and well hidden the insect is protected from predators in bad weather during the last stage of transformation of its life it is a guarantee of safety which enables him to reach the adult stage to reproduce and to ensure the continuity of its species there are still giant insects today however they have nothing in common proportionally speaking with the giant insects of 300 million years ago insects are arthropods with a soft body surrounded by an external skeleton inside they have no support Against Gravity the weight of the internal organs is in balance with the forces on the surface the stress is therefore increase proportionally with the mass and size of the insects in the Carboniferous period the atmosphere is different the surface of the Earth is like a giant swamp filled with bald cypress trees rich in oxygen and moisture the atmosphere is dense which allows meganura to move while wearing its heavy carapace the current atmosphere would not allow this anymore the second limit to gigantism is the respiratory system of insects air flows freely through their bodies via spiracles that are connected by trachea the larger the insect's body the larger the network must be because of additional oxygen requirements the size of the joint between the legs and the body limits the size of the trachea and therefore the oxygen supply and development of the insect [Music] so what types of specimens qualify as giant insects today nowadays giant insects live mainly in tropical and inter-tropical climates the largest insect in the world is a moth from India called Atticus Atlas it occupies a large part of Southeast Asia and particularly Thailand this butterfly can reach a wingspan of 30 centimeters or 12 inches until it reaches the adult State its caterpillar herbivorous feeds on plants once it becomes a butterfly it is unable to feed because its mouth is atrophied it has only a few days of survival in order to reproduce its lifespan is reduced to about a week for females and a little less for males it is sometimes nicknamed the Cobra butterfly because of the shape of the tips of its front wings the titanus gigantius is a beetle whose body measures up to 16.7 centimeters or 7 inches long it lives in the rainforests of Colombia Peru Ecuador Guiana and Brazil adults have mandibles capable of breaking a wooden pencil in half and spines on each side of the prothorax the larval stage takes place underground for several years the specimens feed on decaying wood once they reach the adult stage they stop feeding and devote this time to reproduction the titanus gigantius is black to Red in color it has long legs and large eyes although it looks terrifying the Titan is totally harmless the species is discreet and difficult to observe [Music] the Hercules dynast competes with the Titan in terms of size it is also considered one of the largest beetles if not one of the largest insects in the world males are shiny black with elytra that vary from yellow to red or brownish green to bluish the female has a duller brown color when they spread their wings males reach up to 17.5 centimeters or 7 inches it has two horns one extends the thorax the other a little smaller is a cephalic extension and forms a claw the last one is used as a weapon when he fights with other males it is able to lift and carry up to 200 grams with its horns the larvae of the dynasties Hercule feed on plant material in the soil they measure up to 10 centimeters or 4 inches and remain in this form for several years then they transform into nymphs and evolve to the adult stage one species of stick insect is also referred to as a giant acrophila wolfinghy has female specimens reaching up to 40 centimeters or 15 inches with legs this creature shows a marked sexual dimorphism since males reach only 12 centimeters or 5 inches the stick insects blend into the forest with their stick-like appearance and their green brown to Green matte color they feed on foliage such as brambles raspberries eucalyptus the eggs incubate about five months in a slightly humid atmosphere they live then until eight months for the females and three months for the males although appearing giant these fasms are however ridiculous next to the giant phasma named frigonistria chinensis Zhao discovered in China it validates the record of the longest insect in the world the scientist xiaoli took six years to find the animal this monster whose size can reach 62 centimeters or 25 inches thin as a human finger blended into its environment thanks to its appearance of twigs and leaves [Music] the one that currently holds one of the records for the largest diplopod specimen is narcius americanus this giant black centipede with red legs can reach up to 12 centimeters or 5 inches long it is far from the gigantism of the arthropleura but this millipede still impresses it is widely distributed in Quebec it has a pair of antennas on its head as well as mandibles and Jaws it lives hidden in humid environments under stones in the ground or in dead in decaying wood like earthworms it contributes to the formation of hummus as well as aerating the soil and stirring at surface layers when it feels in danger from a predator it rolls in a spiral when it molts it then displays a larger number of rings most of these species are recent however some of them were already on the earth 190 million years ago this is the case of the giant WETA from New Zealand which is known to be a giant insect but above all the heaviest known to date its name is not very flattering since it means god of ugly things in Maori it can reach 10 centimeters or 4 inches without counting the antennas and the legs the largest specimen weighed 75 grams three times more than a gray Mouse the giant WETA can be found in trees or on the ground it takes full advantage of the New Zealand Island its powerful mandibles can pierce the skin of a man this orthopteron is part of the same family as the locusts they owe their gigantism to the absence of predators for several Generations which allowed them to undergo less selective pressure and to grow rapidly the world of living things is constantly finding its way it is opportunistic during the Carboniferous period insects took advantage of favorable circumstances to increase in size and become true predators conditions that will never occur again despite The Disappearance of the giant insects they leave behind them an offspring that despite its reduced size presents a range of evolutionary advantages the ant can carry up to a thousand times its weight and the flea can jump almost 340 times its own height these are performances that no other animal can match

Channel: Wondody | The World of Odysseys

Views: 3,036,391

Keywords: wondodi, science, space, documentary, earth, space documentary, galaxy, universe, venus, mars, nasa, abyss, ocean, nature, extraterrestrial, alien, history, solar system, life, water, history of the earth, extinction of dinosaurs, dinosaur documentary, animal documentary, history documentary, natural documentary, dinosaurs documentary, dinosaurs, journey, history of the universe, earth documentary, earth history, giant insect, giant insects prehistoric, giant insects documentary, giant insects

Id: Lx8XXyJDfz8

Length: 81min 20sec (4880 seconds)

Published: Sun May 14 2023