Explore this animal in Size of Extinct Animals ↗
390 / Paleozoic
Erasipteron
Erasipteron larischi
Broad net-veined wings carried an early aerial predator through oxygen-rich forests.
View original image · 1600 × 1067- Time range
- About 315–307 million years ago
- Final stage
- Late Carboniferous
- Geographic range
- Coal-forest airspace · Czech Republic
01 / DEFINITION & ECOLOGY
What was Erasipteron?
Erasipteron (Erasipteron larischi) was an extinct organism known from About 315–307 million years ago, with a range in Coal-forest airspace · Czech Republic.
Life and ecology
This griffinfly chased smaller insects above wetlands.
02 / DISAPPEARANCE
Why did Erasipteron disappear?
A drying climate, falling oxygen and turnover among aerial predators are possible context; a specific cause is not established.
03 / EVIDENCE
How do scientists know about Erasipteron?
Wing impressions and body fragments preserve venation; size and ecology are estimated from relatives.
04 / SOURCES & FURTHER READING
Check the source record
Use the scientific name to compare taxonomy, occurrence records and the fossil record. Database coverage and classifications may differ.
05 / REVISION HISTORY
How has this record changed?
- Rewrote an extinction cause that presented environmental or faunal turnover as established; it is now given as context the record does not prove.
- Verified authoritative entity sources and added three responsive reconstruction sizes.
- Initial bilingual species record published.
06 / CORRECTIONS & ADDITIONS