During the Carboniferous Period, the climate was such that life flourished and many taxa, both plant and animal, grew to unusually large sizes.
The climate was essentially tropical, so vegetation was abundant. Scientists believe that the oxygen level in the atmosphere at that time was about 30% compared to today's 21% (Graham, 1998). Both of these factors allowed organisms to grow very large.< /p>
Dragonflies thrived on the oxygen-rich air which allowed them to grow to wing spans of up to 2.5 feet! There were cockroaches 8-10 cm long, and amphibians such as ichthyostega, temnospondyl, and eryops were able to grow up to 2 m long with weights reac hing 130 kg!
The Carboniferous forests included Lepidodendrons and Calamites, which grew up to 30 m high, and tree ferns that reached 10 m high.
Dragonflies had wingspans of up to 2.5 feet!
To the right is a Calamites tree, also known as a horsetail
