Carboniferous of Europe: a swampy palaeoenvironment with tree-like Lepidodendron (lycopsids) forming a dense forest. Also shown is the stem of a giant horsetail – calamites (the one growing at an odd angle). The winged insect climbing a horsetail (equisetum) is a primitive cockroach (Manoblatta sp). The flying insects are the large dragonflies (meganeura). At the top centre of the image is a Homoioptera with a pair of long tails. In the front of its wings, it has a pair of flap-like protonal paranota. Protonal paranota are not found today on winged insects and are probably remnants of the early evolution of insects' wings. Coming out of its burrow is a mesothelae spider. I was told that there is not much information available about these spiders, but they are most likely to have had a segmented body, and may have lived in burrows. There is an amphibian resting beyond the calamite trunk, at the base of a lepidodendron trunk.