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Breathing easier in the Carboniferous

10.06.2000

Why aren't there ants the size of dogs? Because insects do not have lungs in which the blood is saturated with oxygen, and then carries it throughout the body.

Insects are supplied with oxygen by "forced ventilation": thin air tubes-tracheas fit all organs, and even individual cells. Of these, oxygen diffuses into the tissues. This inefficient way of breathing prevents insects from becoming larger than 10-15 centimeters.

However, the imprints of giant dragonflies in coal seams have long been known. Their wingspan was 50-70 centimeters, like a fairly large aircraft model. How could such giants breathe? Robert Berner of Yale University measured the content of certain carbon and sulfur isotopes in Carboniferous deposits. The accumulation of these isotopes depends on the concentration of oxygen in the air.

According to Berner's calculations, 250-350 million years ago, the Earth's atmosphere contained 35 percent oxygen instead of the current 21 percent. Therefore, huge insects could exist.

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