Explore this animal in Size of Extinct Animals ↗
394 / Paleozoic
Gerarus
Gerarus danae
An enlarged prothorax carried a row of prominent spines.
View original image · 1600 × 1067- Time range
- About 307 million years ago
- Final stage
- Late Carboniferous
- Geographic range
- Humid forest · North America
01 / DEFINITION & ECOLOGY
What was Gerarus?
Gerarus (Gerarus danae) was an extinct organism known from About 307 million years ago, with a range in Humid forest · North America.
Life and ecology
This orthopteran relative moved among vegetation and may have used the spines for display or defense.
02 / DISAPPEARANCE
Why did Gerarus disappear?
Insect turnover before the Permian is possible context, but it does not establish why the lineage disappeared.
03 / EVIDENCE
How do scientists know about Gerarus?
Mazon Creek nodules preserve bodies, wings, antennae and thoracic spines.
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