Prehistoric Animal Museum

Meet today’s friendGiant griffinfly

Meganeura

Look at its four vein-covered wings, six legs and two enormous compound eyes.

This is Meganeura. It lived about 300 million years ago and was a distant relative of today's dragonflies. Look at its four vein-covered wings, six legs and two enormous compound eyes.

Still model of Meganeura on a transparent background

Looking for the 3D model…

Stegosaurus

Pachycephalosaurus

Ankylosaurus

Regaliceratops

Ichthyosaurs

Tyrannosaurus rex

Rhamphorhynchus

Anurognathus

Hallucigenia

Triceratops

Apatosaurus

Sarcosuchus

Plesiosaurs

Gigantoraptor

Parasaurolophus

Tupandactylus

Therizinosaurus

Woolly mammoth

Tully monster

Phorusrhacos

Dilophosaurus

Spinosaurus

Quetzalcoatlus

Xiphactinus

Lystrosaurus

Dallasaurus

Archaeopteryx

Carnotaurus

Styxosaurus

Anomalocaris

Preparing the Meganeura exhibit.

Explore together

Guide for grown-ups

When it lived: Late Carboniferous (about 300 million years ago)
Where fossils were found: Europe (Commentry, France)
Wingspan: 0.7 m (about 2.3 ft)
Diet: Meat-eater
What kind of animal?: Giant griffinfly. Meganeura was a giant extinct griffinfly related to modern dragonflies, but it was not a true modern dragonfly. Late Carboniferous fossils from Commentry, France, indicate a wingspan of about 70 centimetres, and the wing veins preserved in the type specimen guide the four-wing reconstruction. Strong spines on the legs of close relatives suggest that they could bring all six legs together as a basket for catching prey in the air, but little of Meganeura's complete body is preserved. Its yellow-and-black colour, translucent wing membranes, exact vein branches, number of leg spines and wing beats are cautious artistic reconstructions guided by the evidence.

Explore together

Narration transcript

This is Meganeura. It lived about 300 million years ago and was a distant relative of today's dragonflies. Look at its four vein-covered wings, six legs and two enormous compound eyes.

Research notes about Meganeura

Research summary

Fossils of Meganeura date to the Late Carboniferous (about 300 million years ago) and have been found in Europe (Commentry, France).

Learning from fossils

Meganeura belonged to an extinct griffinfly group related to dragonflies; it was not a true modern dragonfly.
About 0.7 metres describes the wingspan, not the body length.
The wing-vein evidence is strong, while the complete soft body, body colour, eye colour and exact number of leg spines are poorly known.
High oxygen levels may have helped insects grow large, but they are not proven to be the only cause.

Scientific sources

Meganeura monyi, libellule géante - Muséum national d’Histoire naturelleAccessed 2026-08-01
The winged insects of the Carboniferous and their predatory leg basketAccessed 2026-08-01
New imaging and wing venation of the Meganeura monyi holotypeAccessed 2026-08-01

Leon Made This compiled these research notes from public museum resources and scientific papers while preserving uncertainty in the reconstruction. Last reviewed 2026-08-07.

3D model and asset credits

Meganeura Dinoraul but it is a bit accurate: “Meganeura Dinoraul but it is a bit accurate” by Nobilis the Palaeovespa (@nobilishornet), CC-BY-4.0; modified for the Prehistoric Animal Museum. Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International

Open source and licensing

The code is licensed under AGPL-3.0. Original science writing and project artwork use CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 for non-commercial sharing. The brand policy prevents impersonation, and third-party assets keep their original licences.

View the GitHub project Read the full licensing notes

Official source

Made by Leon Made This

Prehistoric Animal Museum is made and maintained by Leon Made This. Use these addresses to verify the official project and its creator.

Official Prehistoric Animal Museumhttps://leon-made-this.work/museum/en/Leon's personal websitehttps://leon-made-this.work/

More information is available below.

Swipe up for more

Leon Made This

About this museum

A little museum made by a developer dad for his daughter

I’m Leon, a developer and a dad. When my daughter was three, dinosaur chases on television frightened her, so I made a 3D prehistoric animal museum where she could look quietly and listen only when she wanted to.

The museum is free, with no sign-up, adverts or visitor tracking. Finding one interesting detail at a time is plenty.

Official source

Made by Leon Made This

Prehistoric Animal Museum is made and maintained by Leon Made This. Use these addresses to verify the official project and its creator.

Official Prehistoric Animal Museumhttps://leon-made-this.work/museum/en/Leon's personal websitehttps://leon-made-this.work/

View the source on GitHub Read the licence and asset notes